Liza Minnelli slams Kennedy Center for ‘bigoted attack on the arts'
The award-winning entertainer issued a statement in solidarity with longtime collaborator Michael Feinstein, whose Pride program at the institution was 'abruptly and unceremoniously canceled.'
'Earlier this week, my dearest friend in the world, @MichaelFeinsteinsings, sounded a clarion call about what may only be defined as a bigoted attack on the arts,' Minnelli posted to Instagram on Friday, May 9, referring to Feinstein's own post about the situation.
Feinstein, singer and founder of the Union Square cabaret venue Feinstein's at the Nikko, was scheduled to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra and perform and speak a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts program titled 'A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride' on May 21-22.
'My lifetime friend @elizabethtaylor once said… 'without gay people there is no entertainment industry.' Long before Elizabeth said it, My Mama and Papa taught me, from my earliest memory to embrace everyone,' she went on.
Minnelli, the daughter of actor Judy Garland and theater director Vincente Minnelli, then urged her followers to read Feinstein's recent essay 'Fear of Queer?' which addresses the Kennedy Center's recent programming decisions among broader concerns about freedom in America.
'These recent Kennedy Center losses may well be defined in the years ahead, as the 21st century government-sanctioned censorship and silencing of creativity, regardless of value, based strictly on sexual orientation,' the essay, shared to Instagram last week, reads. 'Indeed, the latest attempts to strip PBS and NPR of critical funds, highlight the fact that any government-supported access to the arts is no longer safe.'
Feinstein's essay follows the Trump administration's recent rescindment of crucial federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, which has affected a number of organizations across the Bay Area and beyond.
'Michael's message of truth shatters my heart into so many pieces,' Minnelli wrote. 'I'm damn mad about what's going on.'
A lifelong ally of the LBGTQ+ community, Minnelli was recently honored during the Season 17 finale of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' with the Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award for her 'dazzling contributions to entertainment and sharing her irrepressible joy.'
The 79-year-old was treated to a special performance of her 1972 song 'Ring Them Bells' during the episode, which aired on April 18, and was met with roaring applause from the studio audience.
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