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Harvey Fierstein at the 2024 Tony Awards; Richard Grenell at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The Broadway legend had a few choice words for the presidential envoy for special missions appointed by Donald Trump.
Harvey Fierstein shared a new post dragging Richard Grenell, the out gay politician recently appointed by Donald Trump as the presidential envoy for special missions. Besides sharing a photo of Grenell on social media, the Tony Award-winning actor and playwright wrote a scathing read about the politician.
Fierstein wrote, "Ric Grenell is a self-loathing queer. Always was, and I'm sad to report that he always will be. During the last election, he begged me to stop exposing his true self. He promised that he'd stop attacking the LGBTQ community."
"Well, he's back at it as you can clearly see," Fierstein added. "The writing is on the wall: Just because Ric Grenell is a cocksucker does not make him a good person."
Earlier this year, Fierstein revealed that he was banned from the Kennedy Center with an emotional Instagram post about how the Trump administration was handling its takeover of the venue.
"The shows I've written are now banned from being performed in our premiere American theater," the Broadway icon wrote on March 18. "I have been in the struggle for our civil rights for more than 50 years only to watch them snatched away by a man who actually couldn't care less."
Fierstein added that Trump "does this stuff only to placate the religious right so they'll look the other way as he savages our political system for his own glorification."
After being elected for a second term in The White House, Trump announced that his administration would be handling the events taking place at the Kennedy Center. In response to these changes, multiple entertainers and shows announced they would no longer perform at the beloved cultural institution.
Namely, Issa Rae canceled her show, An Evening With Issa Rae, following Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center. "Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums, I've decided to cancel my appearance at this venue," she wrote in an Instagram story at the time.
Lin-Manuel Miranda also shared a statement with The New York Times that Hamilton would not perform at the Kennedy Center, either. "This latest action by Trump means it's not the Kennedy Center as we knew it," Miranda explained. "The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we're not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We're just not going to be part of it."
Grenell responded to Miranda's statement in a since-deleted X post, calling it a "publicity stunt that will backfire." He continued, "The Arts are for everyone — not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with," as reported by the Daily Mail.
This story is still developing…
Moises Mendez II is a culture journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He covers internet culture and entertainment including television, movies, music, and more. For the last two years, he was a Culture Reporter at TIME Magazine. Before that, he was a freelance journalist and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Fast Company, and more. Moises holds a master's degree in Arts and Culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Moises Mendez II is a culture journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He covers internet culture and entertainment including television, movies, music, and more. For the last two years, he was a Culture Reporter at TIME Magazine. Before that, he was a freelance journalist and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Fast Company, and more. Moises holds a master's degree in Arts and Culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
