Michael Feinstein is talking about the cancellation of the Kennedy Center event, which led to the Pride plan he intends to pursue.
In an Instagram post earlier this week, the singer and pianist slammed "the recent loss of Kennedy Center" and pointed out that they were "a government-approved censorship." There, Feinstein shared his book "Fear of Queer?" paper, which he further discussed cancellation.
“Recently, I was invited to perform and speak on a program titled “Peacock among the Doves: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride” at the Kennedy Center, celebrating the rainbow of influence on art, music and our entire culture,’’Feinstein began. “The program was suddenly and unceremoniously cancelled. ”
"In the coming years, the Kennedy Center's recent losses will likely be defined as a 21st century government-approved censorship and silence of creativity, regardless of value, strictly based on sexual orientation," he wrote. Later in the article, Feinstein also spoke about Donald Trump's recent executive order to stop federal funding for NPR and PBS.
"Indeed, the latest attempt to deprive PBS and NPR key funds highlights the fact that any government-backed art opportunities are no longer safe," he wrote. "Because the current government has banned, cancelled, or banned to eliminate any concerts or programs at the Kennedy Center, in any way enabling art to recognize the existence of homosexuality."
After Donald Trump returned to power, he announced his plan to "terminate multiple people on the board" at the Truth Society Center in February and appointed the Kennedy Center chairman in the vote, resulting in the firing of the center's long-time president, Deborah Rutter.
"The only show under the Kennedy Center Program Umbrella we canceled since February 12 due to a lack of sales or artist availability," Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, said in a statement shared online in early March.
"The next logical step is to ban gay, bisexual, heterosexual, transgender, gay or friends who suspect they are queer.
As a lifelong friend and collaborator of Liza Minnelli, the EGOT champion is related to Feinstein’s “Clarion Callion” and can only be defined as a paranoid attack on the arts and support from the LGBTQ+ community.
“As an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, human rights advocates are the daughter of two iconic, amazing artists, and my own career is that without the contribution of the LGBTQ+ genius, I would have become a singer, with very few songs, a dancer, very few collaborators, and no scripts, I could continue to perform!” Minnelli wrote. "Please read 'Are you afraid of queer?