The Kennedy Center has quietly removed a highly anticipated National Symphony Orchestra concert celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride from its website, intensifying fears that federally affiliated cultural institutions could be the next battleground in President Donald Trump’s war on the LGBTQ+ community.
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The event, “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” was scheduled for May 21–22 as part of the center’s acknowledgment of WorldPride 2025 inWashington, D.C. A centerpiece of the Kennedy Center’s Conflux initiative—its flagship social impact partnership program—the concert was designed to celebrate LGBTQ+ identity and visibility through music.
It was set to feature singer-songwriter John Bucchino, special guests, and the orchestral premiere of Bucchino’s choral work A Peacock Among Pigeons, a piece about embracing one’s uniqueness, according toBroadway World. The NSO was also slated to perform works by LGBTQ+ composers and allies.
Related: Capital Pride scrambles after board member joins Trump’s anti-diversity administration
Tickets for the event first went on sale in June 2024, but the concert has now disappeared from the Kennedy Center’s website and ticketing system. It also does not appear on the WorldPride 2025 schedule. Capital Pride Alliance executive director Ryan Bos told The Advocate that the event is not part of the official WorldPride programming and, therefore, wasn’t on the group’s website.
The Kennedy Center has yet to offer an explanation. Still, the timing is impossible to ignore—just days after Trump installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board, ousted longtime president Deborah Rutter and appointed one of his most loyal right-wing operatives, Richard Grenell, who is gay, as its interim executive director. This position did not previously exist.
The Kennedy Center had previously touted its deep commitment to WorldPride 2025, announcing a season of programming through Conflux to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pride in the nation’s capital and to ensure diverse representation in its social impact initiatives. But that was before Trump seized control. As of Thursday afternoon, the announcement is still available on the entertainment institute’s website.
Related: Booz Allen Hamilton drops sponsorship of WorldPride, cites Donald Trump’s anti-DEI order
Grenell, Trump’s pick to lead the Kennedy Center, has no background in arts administration but has built a reputation as a MAGA culture warrior willing to do Trump’s bidding. In his Truth Social announcement, Trump declared Grenell “shares my Vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture.”
In the days since the Trump takeover, entertainers Issa Rae and Low Cut Connie have announced they were canceling events at the prestigious venue.
The NSO has not responded to multiple requests for comment on removing “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” nor has the Kennedy Center. The Advocate has also contacted NSO Music Director Gianandrea Noseda to ask whether the orchestra is committed to inclusivity in the arts.
A spokesperson for GLAAD criticized the effort to erase LGBTQ+ people from public events. “LGBTQ people have always been and always will be part of every community. In fact, we know that the more LGBTQ people are included, the more we all succeed – at work, in school, in business, in the media, and in the arts,” the spokesperson told The Advocate in a statement. “Despite the efforts of this administration, we will keep telling our stories louder and prouder than ever. Attempts to exclude us will not erase us.”
Tyler Curry-McGrath, the author of the children’s book upon which the musical is based, told The Advocate he had planned to bring his 4-year-old daughter to see the show, making its cancellation particularly painful. “The book is an anti-bullying book,” he said. “It’s ironic that a story about embracing who you are is now being bullied out of the Kennedy Center by the president of the United States.”
Curry-McGrath, who said his book, which is celebrating its 10-year publication anniversary this year, had been banned in several Florida school districts, called the cancellation a “badge of honor,” though he expressed deep concern over the broader implications. “It’s not about me—it’s about the kids who won’t get to see this story and the families who are being told that they don’t belong.”
Reflecting on the current political climate, he warned that Pride is no longer just a celebration but a battleground. “I was already hesitant about taking my daughter to WorldPride because this year, it’s not just going to be a festival—it’s going to be a protest. We have to be vigilant.”
The erasure of “A Peacock Among Pigeons” is just the latest blow to WorldPride 2025. Last week, Booz Allen Hamilton—one of the event’s corporate sponsors—pulled out, citing concerns over Trump’s recent executive orders that dismantled federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The company also announced it would shut down its own DEI department and prohibit employees from using pronouns or bathrooms that don’t align with their assigned sex at birth. Booz Allen Hamilton has significant contracts with the federal government.
In January, the Capital Pride Alliance—WorldPride 2025’s organizing body—was forced to distance itself from one of its former board members, Vince Micone, after he accepted a leadership role in Trump’s administration overseeing the dismantling of DEI programs in the Department of Labor. Micone, a longtime LGBTQ+ advocate and career civil servant, resigned from Capital Pride’s board before taking on the temporary role of acting secretary of the Department of Labor. His first major act in office was to announce the closure of all DEI offices within the department, aligning with Trump’s executive orders against so-called “radical and wasteful government DEI programs.”
The Capital Pride Alliance previously acknowledged the challenges of the changing political landscape and vowed to push forward.
“Just like many companies and LGBTQ+ organizations, we are navigating current challenges and many unknowns,” a spokesperson for the group toldMetro Weekly. “We are confident, however, that we will have the support necessary to have a successful and safe WorldPride that meets this moment.”
