WorldPride organizers said celebrations initially set to take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., would be held elsewhere, suggesting the change of venue was because of President Trump’s recent takeover of the institution.
June Crenshaw, deputy director of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance, said the group “proactively relocated” events slated for the Kennedy Center “to ensure our entire LGBTQ+ community will be welcome.”
“These events have not been canceled,” Crenshaw said in an emailed statement. Rather, they have been moved to the WorldPride Welcome Center in downtown Washington, she said.
“WorldPride is happening, and it is essential to our community both in the US and around the world that we continue to be seen and our voices heard,” Crenshaw said.
The announcement comes after The Associated Press reported last week that WorldPride organizers and the Kennedy Center had canceled a week’s worth of events amid a shift in priorities at the cultural institution. Artists and producers involved in the center’s Tapestry of Pride schedule, which had been planned for June 5-8, told the AP that their events were abruptly canceled or moved to other venues.
Crenshaw said the AP’s reporting is accurate, “but to be clear, not all of the Tapestry of Pride events were canceled by the Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center did not immediately return a request for comment.
Massive changes at the Kennedy Center have been underway since February, when Trump purged the center’s board of trustees and installed himself as chair, a decision seemingly driven at least in part by a drag performance held there last year. “‘NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA – ONLY THE BEST’,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that named Richard Grenell the center’s executive director.
Days later, the Kennedy Center canceled a performance featuring the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which the center said was due to financial constraints and scheduling conflicts. The group is set to perform the axed piece, “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” during WorldPride’s International Choral Festival.
Stars serving in various roles at the Kennedy Center announced their departures following Trump’s takeover, and performances of hot ticket shows like “Hamilton” and “Fellow Travelers” — based on Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel about two gay government workers who fall in love during the 1950s — were canceled or withdrawn from the institution by their creators.
Issa Rae canceled her sold-out show at the Kennedy Center shortly after Trump took over in early February. In an Instagram story post, she wrote that she canceled the show “due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds.”
WorldPride organizers have taken additional precautions ahead of the event, which will run from May 17 to June 8 in Washington, over safety concerns driven by the Trump administration’s rhetoric and policies targeting transgender rights.
An advisory issued earlier this month by Capital Pride Alliance said transgender people attending WorldPride celebrations from abroad should “make an informed decision based on the potential risks involved,” citing a new State Department policy preventing transgender, nonbinary and intersex Americans from updating the sex designations on their passports.
The organization said it is “actively” working with local officials in Washington “to ensure the safety of visitors and residents planning to attend.”
“We encourage everyone in our global community, our allies and supporters, to consider participating in this historic moment in whatever way they can,” Capital Pride Alliance said in its statement.
