Latest news with #KennedyCenter
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kennedy Center vice president says he was fired over his Christian beliefs
A top Kennedy Center official says he has been fired over his Christian beliefs. Floyd Brown, a longtime right-wing activist with a history of anti-gay rhetoric, served for just over a month as vice president of development. Brown said he was sacked by interim Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, hours after CNN contacted him with questions about his previous comments about same-sex marriage resurfaced. Brown called same-sex marriage 'godless' and 'a hoax,' described homosexuality as 'a punishment' for America, and promoted baseless conspiracy theories questioning former President Barack Obama 's birth certificate and religion. In a post to X Brown insisted that his personal views did not interfere with his professional conduct. 'I was fired yesterday by @RichardGrenell from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,' Brown wrote on Thursday on X. 'My firing came approximately two hours after @CNN sent an email asking me to comment on my past writings and statements about traditional marriage and homosexual influence in the @ GOP.' 'Comments rooted in my personal Christian views, which I have made in the past, have no impact upon my work here at the Kennedy Center nor do they impinge on my interactions with colleagues who do incredible work for the patrons of the Center,' he wrote. 'As a Christian, I am called to work with others of different beliefs and worldviews.' Brown also shared the statement he said he provided to CNN: 'It was truly not my intention to offend anyone with my comments. I have never intended to attack or demean any person in my statements and have always shared the mission of Jesus, striving to love others unconditionally.' He further claimed that when he sought an explanation for his firing and requested to speak directly with Grenell, both requests were ignored. Brown stated that he was told: 'Floyd, you must recant your belief in traditional marriage and your past statements on the topic, or you will be fired.' He added, 'Needless to say, I refused to recant and was shown the door.' CNN reported that a source familiar with the Kennedy Center said Grenell had not met with Brown, was not involved in his hiring, and did not personally fire him. The Kennedy Center has also declined to comment on Brown's dismissal. Brown's abrupt firing comes amid a broader upheaval at the Kennedy Center since February, when former President Donald Trump named himself chairman and overhauled the institution's previously bipartisan board. Trump appointed Grenell - the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet - as interim president, leading to a series of leadership changes and staffing cuts. Grenell has described the Kennedy Center's financial state as 'serious' and has voiced criticism of what he views as divisive diversity programming. 'We need to focus on common sense programming,' Grenell said in previous statements. Brown, who said he had been recruited to join the Center's development team, was responsible for overseeing major fundraising efforts, raising millions annually from corporations, foundations, and individual donors. His brief tenure had gone largely unnoticed until CNN's inquiry. Staffers reportedly raised concerns internally about Brown's past rhetoric and political background. Some questioned whether his history of incendiary comments, including criticisms of 'secular pro-gay culture', would alienate key donors in the traditionally progressive arts world. Brown did not directly address his past comments about Obama in his X post, focusing instead on his religious convictions. 'The amazing beauty of the MAGA movement is we have people of many different beliefs inside our tent,' he wrote. 'We are all working together in unity to Make America Great Again.' His firing has reignited debate over free speech, religious freedom, and the political direction of the Kennedy Center. While some conservatives have rallied to Brown's defense, others note the complexities of maintaining a fundraising arm in a politically and culturally diverse institution. Neither Grenell nor the Kennedy Center has issued a public statement addressing Brown's claims. The Kennedy Center, under Trump's direction, has already canceled upcoming World Pride events planned for June.
New York Times
a day ago
- General
- New York Times
Trump Says He Fired Director of National Portrait Gallery, Citing D.E.I.
President Trump posted on social media on Friday that he had fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, calling her 'a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.' It is unclear if the president has legal grounds to fire the director, Kim Sajet, because the National Portrait Gallery is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which is independent of the federal government despite receiving nearly two-thirds of its budget from Congress. The museum's bylaws don't have a provision for terminations, and some legal experts believe that the president would first need approval from the Smithsonian's board of trustees, because he does not directly control the organization. However, this year he called on Vice President JD Vance, who is a member of the Smithsonian's board, to work with Congress to overhaul the institution. A Smithsonian official said the organization was caught off-guard by the president's announcement but declined to comment further. The National Portrait Gallery did not respond to a request for comment. Since returning to office in January, Mr. Trump has reshaped the capital's arts scene, installing himself as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. After he quickly signed an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federally funded institutions, organizations like the Smithsonian closed their diversity offices. The National Gallery of Art changed its mission statement by replacing 'diversity, equity, access and inclusion' with 'welcoming and accessible.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Trumpified' Kennedy Center is for ALL Americans — and the elites are raging
The elitist artsy set is up in arms about President Donald Trump's brash takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The 'Trumpified' Washington, DC institution 'should get blown up,' Broadway legend Patti LuPone declared this week. Performers claim to fear 'Trump's politics and his meddling with the arts,' The Washington Post reported — but what they really hate is that the new attitude at the capital's premiere performance center opens it up to regular Americans. Advertisement It's about time the Kennedy Center was politically neutralized, welcoming audiences across the ideological spectrum. Certainly, the insiders should know that the arts have been failing to capture the imagination of the American public — and shows have been failing to recoup their costs — in part because their leftist partisanship has been a turn-off to at least half their potential audience. But the artists who've monopolized the Kennedy Center's stages for years are howling. Advertisement Robert DeNiro, at the Cannes Film Festival, complained about the center's 'philistine' coup in progress. Lin-Manuel Miranda yanked his musical 'Hamilton' from a scheduled run on its stages. Eleven of the 12 principal cast members in 'Les Misérables' say they'll go on strike rather than perform for Trump during their June 11 performance. LuPone, DeNiro, Miranda and the boycotting 'Les Mis' actors are clearly not up on their Hamlet. Advertisement 'The play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,' the prince of Denmark famously said — and these luminaries should know their Shakespeare. Refusing to engage now that the Kennedy Center's leadership opposes their leftist politics only exposes their own ignorance, elitism and superiority complexes. If they really wanted to effect change in the man they so despise, the best thing they could do is perform for him — as Hamlet wisely advised. Advertisement No, the truth is they simply think their hearts and their arts are too pure for the likes of Trump and his supporters. They're mad that the Kennedy Center's hallowed halls aren't just for them and their ethos anymore — that Americans who like a bit of circus with their bread no longer have to feel excluded. Trump's leadership change, while heavy-handed, shunts liberal activism back into the wings where it belongs. Sure, anyone could walk up and buy a ticket, but when it came to the arts in America, we all know full well who has been on the VIP list and who was meant to crouch among the groundlings. Despite the hand-wringing, Trump's first Kennedy Center season will see the same number of Broadway touring shows as in years past — including big New York hits like 'Spamalot,' 'Chicago,' 'Back to the Future,' 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'The Outsiders,' and 'Moulin Rouge!'. But two of them are non-union shows — a cost-cutting move that also opens the door for actors and stage techs who haven't had the chance to gain a coveted spot in the Actors Equity Union (it's not easy to get one). 'We want more options, not fewer,' said Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell, who notes the change in leadership also means no more drag story hours for kids. The Kennedy Center will play a major role next year in the celebration of America's 250th birthday, too, and the NEA granting requirements for that momentous occasion have already changed: They now ask artists to submit projects celebrating America, not tearing her down. Advertisement Anti-Trump artists liked having all of American theater for themselves. They enjoyed shutting out colleagues who didn't agree with them politically, and reveled in making traditionalist audience members feel uncomfortable. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Those performers, writers and producers thought it was their job to 'educate' audiences with leftist politics — but it isn't, and it never was. Advertisement It's their job to entertain and tell honest stories in beautiful forms. When regional theater began in the 1950s with funding from the Ford Foundation, the goal was to take professional shows out to the rest of the country, to bring them the Broadway experience — not to force-feed them political diatribes. That's what Trump intends to do: Bring a return to fun to the American stage, with transportive, transformative works that allow audiences to let go of day-to-day troubles and experience the wonder of theater. Advertisement And what none of these complainers seem to realize is this: If their stages hadn't been occupied by leftist activism that shut out regular Americans, there'd be no cause for the correction they're seeing now. Libby Emmons is the editor-in-chief at the Post Millennial.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Trump announces sudden firing of museum director Kim Sajet in baffling Truth Social post
President Trump has announced that he has fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery Kim Sajet. In a post to his Truth Social, the president said: 'Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am herby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery. 'She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. 'Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Sajet, a Dutch citizen raised in Australia, was appointed to the post in 2013 by President Barack Obama. She had previously served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Trump has repeatedly criticized the national network of museums and cultural centers as leftist and anti-American. Earlier this spring, he ousted the leadership of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, dismissing the chairman and president and replacing most of the board with loyalists, who then voted Trump the new chairman. It is not immediately clear if the president has the power to dismiss the gallery's director. The gallery, founded by Congress in 1962, operates under the Smithsonian Institution which in turn is funded through a mix of private and public money. Federal funding makes up 62 percent of its backing, according to its website.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Pro-Trump Kennedy Center executive says he was fired
Advertisement It was not immediately clear what activities he was involved with at the center. The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside business hours Thursday. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Brown said Thursday that his requests for an explanation for his dismissal and to speak with Grenell, who during the president's first term was recognized as America's first gay Cabinet member, have been ignored. Brown claimed that he was told he would be fired if he did not recant his position on 'traditional marriage.' 'Needless to say, I refused to recant and was shown the door,' he wrote. Brown was the operative behind the racist Willie Horton attack ads during the 1988 presidential campaign. He later promoted conspiracy theories about Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, too. Brown has also made comments denigrating homosexuality in the past. In an archived page from one of his defunct websites, he lamented the victories of 'secular pro-gay culture.' Advertisement 'Comments rooted in my personal Christian views, which I have made in the past, have no impact upon my work here at the Kennedy Center nor do they impinge on my interactions with colleagues,' Brown wrote in his X post. 'I have never intended to attack or demean any person in my statements, and have always shared the mission of Jesus, striving to love others unconditionally.' This is the latest episode in months of upheaval at the Kennedy Center. Trump stunned the cultural world in February when he made himself chair of the Kennedy Center and purged its previously bipartisan board of Biden-era appointees, making his loyalist Grenell the president. Trump's actions have prompted criticism, and some artists have canceled their engagements at the center in protest. Grenell has culled the Kennedy Center's staff, saying it faces serious financial problems. He has also denounced some of the center's efforts to embrace diversity, saying it should promote 'common sense programming.' This article originally appeared in
