"Launched by Qommittee - a national network of drag artists and allies led by survivors of hate crimes such as the Pulse and Club Q mass shootings, a firebombing at an Ohio church, and an attack on a power grid in North Carolina - it calls on donors to suspend funding to the Center until artistic independence is restored, and to redirect support to banned or censored artists."
""While Trump won't back down, the donors who contribute nearly $100 million annually to the Kennedy Center can afford to take a stand," the petition reads. "Money talks. When donors fund censorship, they don't just harm one institution - they tell marginalized communities their stories don't deserve to be told.""
"As drag artists staged protests, ticket sales at the Center plummeted. Over 43 percent of seats went unsold between September 3 and October 19, according to a report from , compared to only 7 percent during the same period in 2024. The 48th Kennedy Center Honors telecast hosted by Trump also drew the smallest audience ever for the event, a report from Programming Insider found, receiving just 2.65 million viewers - a 35 percent decline from the 4.1 million viewers in 2024."
Qommittee, a national network of drag artists and allies led by survivors of major hate crimes, launched a petition demanding donors suspend funding to the Kennedy Center until artistic independence is restored and redirect support to banned or censored artists. The petition cites donors' financial power and argues funding censorship harms marginalized communities. Donald Trump added his name to the Center, announced plans to overhaul its board and replace the chairman, and said he aimed to end family-friendly drag shows. Artists canceled performances, ticket sales plunged, and the Kennedy Center Honors telecast saw a record low audience.
Read at Advocate.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]