WorldPride 2025 has hit a major roadblock just weeks before kickoff. Organizers are forced to move several key LGBTQ events out of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Many are saying it is due to a politically motivated cultural purge led by President Donald Trump.
Trump’s sweeping changes at the Kennedy Center began earlier this year when he fired President Deborah Rutter, dissolved the bipartisan board, and installed loyalists — including Second Lady Usha Vance and longtime operative Dan Scavino. He then appointed himself chairman and created a new executive director role for Richard Grenell, a MAGA loyalist with no arts administration experience.
In a February Truth Social post, Trump vowed “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA,” claiming a return to a so-called “GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture.” Now, LGBTQ+ programs like the AIDS Memorial Quilt display, a drag story hour, and Pride concerts have been scrubbed from the Kennedy Center calendar.
The Capital Pride Alliance confirmed the programming will now relocate to downtown D.C. Other events, like the International Pride Orchestra concert and a National Symphony Orchestra Pride collaboration, were also abruptly canceled or removed without explanation. Protests have erupted outside the Kennedy Center, and several artists, including Issa Rae, have pulled out.
Queer organizations and sponsors have voiced concerns — with Egale Canada withdrawing and Booz Allen Hamilton cutting financial support. Capital Pride Alliance and international governments have issued warnings about the Trump administration’s new rules requiring all visa applicants to declare their sex assigned at birth and banning X-gender passports. Still, Pride will go on.
