Tavis Forsyth, a contract employee at the Kennedy Center, was fired on Thursday after posting a nude protest video on YouTube opposing changes at the center under President Donald Trump’s leadership. Forsyth, 32, who identifies as queer and uses “they/them” pronouns, created a 35-minute spoken-word poem in which they criticized the alleged banning of drag performers at the venue.
In the explicit video, Forsyth sat on a bed fully clothed before snapping their fingers, at which point their clothing disappeared, leaving only a digitally censored rainbow heart over their genitalia. They questioned whether to resign in protest, asking, “Is my complicity inevitable, or am I holding a line on the inside?” Before being able to resign, Forsyth was terminated from their position.
“Trump has taken over the Kennedy Center, and that’s a place where I work,” Forsyth stated in the video. “He has vowed to ban drag performers from its stages, and as the saying goes, ‘We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag.'”
Forsyth continued by contemplating whether staying at the Kennedy Center made them complicit in “a hostile government takeover” that targets marginalized groups or whether staying was an act of resistance. They expressed concerns that Trump’s administration was eroding diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at the center.
Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, called the video “extremely disturbing,” especially given Forsyth’s work with minors. Forsyth defended the video, claiming it was meant to spark discussion on diversity and artistic freedom.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Forsyth previously worked in the Kennedy Center’s education division, overseeing the administration of the Washington National Opera summer training program for high school singers. Their bio has since been removed from the Kennedy Center’s website.
In an interview, Forsyth said they hoped the video would “inspire conversation around the role of the artist and, more generally, the role of the citizen.” They encouraged people to “divest from oppressive institutions and systems of hate.”
The Kennedy Center, a national cultural institution in Washington, D.C., had previously embraced progressive policies before the Trump administration’s oversight led to significant policy changes.
