Ron DeSantis vetoes million-dollar grants for the arts to defund “sexual” theater festivals

Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis (R) Photo: Shutterstock

Florida Governor and failed Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis shocked the nation earlier this month when he blocked $32 million in arts funding in the state budget. On Thursday, he justified his decision by citing “sexual” arts festivals.

“Their tax dollars are being spent as subsidies on things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sex festival where they do all this stuff,” DeSantis said during a press conference on Thursday, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Related:

“The thing is, how many of you think your tax dollars should be used for this?” DeSantis added. “Not very many people would do that.”

Stay connected with your community

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date on the issues and events affecting your community at home and elsewhere.

“When I see money being spent this way, I have to be the one to stand up for the taxpayers and say, ‘You know, this is an inappropriate use of taxpayer money,'” DeSantis said. “I can’t sell the Fringe Festival to the taxpayers, nor do I want to try to sell the Fringe Festival to the taxpayers.”

DeSantis did not specify whether he was referring to the Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival or the Tampa International Fringe Festival, both of which are held annually. And that Tampa Bay Times Spokespeople for the governor reportedly did not respond to questions about certain incidents that he found offensive.

Like many similar events held annually around the world, both the Tampa and Orlando festivals are inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which was founded in 1947 and has hosted plays that have given rise to acclaimed television shows such as Phoebe Waller Bridges Flea bag and Richard Gadds Baby reindeer.

Florida Democratic Representative Anna Eskamani, who attended the Orlando Fringe Festival this year, told the Just that she didn’t see anything “sexual” at the festival.

“It features drag queens and other forms of artistic expression that DeSantis wanted to censor even though the courts told him otherwise!” Eskamani said.

According to Florida Senator-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith (D), the Orlando Festival attracted 18,000 people to the city last May.

But as Gary Fineout, a reporter for Politico who covers Florida, explained on X that it was not even clear whether any of the Fringe festivals had received money from this year’s budget.

Meanwhile, thanks to DeSantis’ veto, the Just reports that institutions such as the Tampa Museum of Art, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Friends of Ybor will all receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants—not to mention smaller arts organizations.

“The state has an overall nine-to-one return on investment from these grants, which generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue and boost our local economy,” Smith told the Tallahasse Democrat Earlier this month. “It’s not smart and it doesn’t make sense.”

Following DeSantis’ comments on Thursday, Smith told the Tampa Bay Times that the governor was “attempting to control and censor the content of the arts.”

As Eskamani noted, the arts funding veto is just the latest move in DeSantis’ ongoing culture war. Last year, the governor signed a law allowing the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation to revoke the business licenses of any venue that allows minors to attend drag performances, even if their parents consent. But the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a preliminary injunction issued against the law last November, effectively overturning it.

Recently, Florida state lawmakers attempted to pass a bill that would have banned the flying of the Pride flag at government buildings. However, the bill failed in the last legislative session, so local governments will still have the option to fly the Pride flag this month.

Last month, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Jared Perdue announced that the DeSantis administration’s “Freedom Summer” initiative will see the state’s bridges illuminated in red, white and blue lights from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The initiative effectively blocks local governments from lighting bridges in rainbow colors for Pride Month.

Don’t forget to share: