Weekly LGBTQ rights festivities at the Kennedy Center have been abruptly called off.
Let's Spill the Tea:
The LGBTQ+ community's festivities for this summer's World Pride in Washington, D.C., are up in smoke due to a series of events at the Kennedy Center – and it's all going down under the Trump administration's watchful eye.
According to The Associated Press, the Kennedy Center has axed a week's worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for the World Pride festival. Artists and producers involved in the center's Tapestry of Pride schedule, originally scheduled for June 5 to 8, reported that their events were either quietly canceled or shifted to different venues.
This move came after Washington's Capital Pride Alliance disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center. June Crenshaw, deputy director of the alliance, said, "We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate. But the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing."
Trump's fingers are all over this one. The Kennedy Center's website still lists Tapestry of Pride, but there's no further detail. The centers move comes on the heels of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, with Trump firing both the president and chairman in early February. He then replaced most of the board with loyalists who, in turn, elected Trump the new chairman.
The World Pride event, usually held every two years, kicks off in just under a month (from May 17 to June 8) with performances and revelries planned across the capital. However, Trump's administration's policies on transgender rights and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances have sparked worries about attendees' experiences.
Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, is the latest casualty in this mess. His June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center was abruptly canceled within days of Trump's takeover, leaving him and his team scrambling to find a new venue (which, in the end, was the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland).
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Crenshaw reported that some events, like a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be moved to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown.
The LGBTQ+ community's been through thick and thin, but Roest's not throwing in the towel. "We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but that's not going to stop us."
It looks like the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race better pack their heels and skip town for D.C. this summer – it ain't gonna be pretty.
- Kennedy Center
- Donald Trump
- LGBTQ
Fun Fact: Did you know that the Kennedy Center has a 2,458 seat Opera House and has hosted continuous performances since it opened on September 8, 1971[3]? Shoutout to all the theater queens out there!
Sources:
- Fear and Sadness: LGBTQ+ Community Responds to Political and Social Tensions Heading into WorldPride 2025
- Trump Administration Policies and Changes at the Kennedy Center Fuel Fears and Cancellations in LGBTQ+ Community
- Kennedy Center History
- World Pride 2025 Events Amidst Challenging Environment and Cancellations
1) The Kennedy Center, traditionally known for hosting performances since 1971, has found itself at the center of controversy in the LGBTQ+ community due to recent events under the watch of the Trump administration.2) Donald Trump's administration has sparked concerns within the LGBTQ+ community, amidst allegations of interfering with the Kennedy Center's celebration of World Pride events.3) Amidst the cancellation of several events at the Kennedy Center, social media platforms have been buzzing with news about the unsettling political climate for the LGBTQ+ community in relation to World Pride and the Trump administration's influence.4) Given the cancellations and shifts in venue for events supporting LGBTQ+ rights at the Kennedy Center, war-and-conflicts and crime-and-justice issues within the community have taken a backseat in the general news discourse, overshadowed by the ongoing drama surrounding policy-and-legislation and the Trump administration.
