Trump-Led Kennedy Center Axes Gay Men’s Chorus Pride Concert

The Kennedy Center, which recently had President Trump installed as its chairman, canceled an upcoming concert featuring the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC.The vocal performance group was scheduled to perform alongside the National Symphony on May 21 to collaborate on “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” with the GMCW performing as the orchestra’s guest chorus. No explanation has been given for the sudden cancellation, according to the Washingtonian.“We believe in the power of music to educate and uplift, to foster love, understanding, and community, and we regret that this opportunity has been taken away,” the GMCW said in a statement to the magazine, adding that they plan to perform “A Peacock Among Pigeons” at the World Pride International Choral Festival which will take place in our nation’s capital around the same time as the original event.Kennedy Center officials told the Washingtonian on Wednesday morning that the event would be replaced with “The Wizard of Oz in Concert,” a program in which the National Symphony Orchestra will play alongside the classic movie, but did not provide a reason for the cancellation.The sudden shuttering of the event comes a week after the board elected Mr. Trump as the new chairman of the Kennedy Center.“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place,” he said in a post on Truth Social last Wednesday.Mr. Trump immediately changed the Center’s operations, ousting long-time president of the Kennedy Center, Deborah Rutter, and naming ally Richard Grenell as the interim executive director.Before his appointment, Mr. Trump had fired several board members appointed by President Biden, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.“The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the newspaper. “President Trump and the members of his newly-appointed board are devoted to rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a thriving and highly respected institution where all Americans, and visitors from around the world, can enjoy the arts with respect to America’s great history and traditions.”Mr. Trump has long taken issue with the non-profit arts center. During his first term at the White House, his ire was raised after numerous 2017 Kennedy Center Honors recipients decided to skip the traditional White House ceremony that takes place before the annual event.Mr. Trump allegedly said in private with staffers that it was “ridiculous” that the Kennedy Center honored so many of his liberal critics and not enough conservative entertainers, according to the Journal.He has also recently taken issue after being shown by an associate a clip of a recent event that included drag queens.“NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA — ONLY THE BEST,” Mr. Trump said in another post on social media.

Trump-Led Kennedy Center Axes Gay Men’s Chorus Pride Concert

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