Five Democratic senators joined “Hamilton” producer Jeffrey Sellers to host a gay pride concert at the Kennedy Center. Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and John Hickenlooper of Colorado participated in the event.
The performance, called “Love is Love,” was described as a “celebration of the important role that Broadway, Hollywood, and other creative enterprises played in this dramatic transformation of the America we love,” a statement from Hickenlooper’s office says.
President of the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell, condemned the concert, stating that he “cannot begin to understand what business it is of Mr. Seller or Mr. [Lin Manuel] Miranda how audience members vote or how it could possibly be relevant to the sacred relationship between performers and ticket holders, but they’ve made it clear that they won’t perform for audiences that might contain Americans who disagree with them on matters irrelevant to the arts.”
“Earlier this month, Senator Hickenlooper’s staff asked to rent space at the Kennedy Center for what his team billed as a first annual Talent show,” Grenell said. “We were pleased to welcome them to the Kennedy Center in this capacity. We were only later notified by the New York Times that Senator Hickenlooper’s event was instead an invite-only political stunt where, once again, the Kennedy Center was being used by political operatives to larp as victims of intolerance in order to get a story in the Times.”
“No one has been cancelled by the Kennedy Center; we welcome everyone who wants to celebrate the arts, including our compatriots on the other side of the political aisle,” he added. “We especially welcome artists and audience members who come to the Kennedy Center not for partisan political pranks but to experience excellence in the performing arts.”
“I am glad that Mr. Seller or Mr. Miranda have decided to perform at the Kennedy Center after having previously decided to boycott it entirely, but I hope they’ll soon consider performing for all the families, school children, and others from across America who come to the Kennedy Center without imposing on them a political litmus test,” Grenell noted.
