DeSantis says he cut all of Florida’s arts funding because of… sex festivals?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in his usual fashion, announced during a press conference on Thursday that he had rejected all grants for public art in Florida last week because of two events he deemed to be “sexual festivals.”

DeSantis, 45, has ruled Florida with an iron fist since taking office in 2018 and has directed and diverted state funds in bizarre ways – for example, in 2022 he spent more than a million taxpayer dollars to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard for a political stunt.

Now two incidents that DeSantis claims were “sexual in nature” are being cited as the reason he rejected $32 million in arts grants nationwide – money that the state legislature had already approved in Florida’s budget.

The latest stunt has roiled arts organizations across the state, including the Tampa Museum of Art and the Sarasota Opera, but DeSantis seemed unfazed by the anger on Thursday, instead focusing on scoring some political points with his base.

“Your tax dollars are being spent as subsidies for things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sex festival where all this stuff is done,” DeSantis said Thursday, without specifying which “things” he objected to.

“Here’s the thing: How many of you think your tax dollars should be used for this? Not very many people would do that.”

The festival mentioned by DeSantis, the International Fringe Theater Festival, has been held annually in Orlando for more than three decades. It advertises that it offers live theater, concerts and “kid-friendly shows and activities.” The Orlando Sentinel reported in May that the festival’s performances “can get sexual – but always for a good reason and for maximum comic effect.”

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A similar festival takes place annually in Tampa, Tampa Bay Times There will be “comedians, puppeteers and other artists”.

DeSantis did not elaborate on why his antipathy toward the Fringe Festival would deprive attractions like the Tampa Zoo and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, both of which rely in part on state funding.

Previous budgets showed that the Fringe festivals in Tampa and Orlando were among the organizations that received the least money from the state, Just reported. And one of the festival organizers stressed on Thursday that describing the events as sexual was complete nonsense.

“By calling the Fringe Festival a ‘sexual’ festival, he mischaracterized our festival and misrepresented our contribution to the arts community locally, nationally and internationally,” said Tempestt Halstead, the producer of the Orlando festival, in a statement to the Just.

DeSantis has cracked down on drag shows in Florida and LGBTQ content in schools, taking on anyone in Florida who has questioned his actions or tactics – most notoriously turning his back on Disney for opposing him on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

In schools, he has also pushed for the banning of hundreds of books, including some about LGBTQ people and Jackie Robinson. He has also started a public fight with the College Board over the content of AP African American history classes. He has also incorporated PragerU content into classes and approved the U.S. history curriculum that teaches Florida children that slavery provided “personal benefits” to blacks in the South.

Now it seems as if Florida’s art scene could be next on the hit list.

“When I see money being spent this way, I have to be the one to stand up for taxpayers and say, ‘You know what, this is an inappropriate use of taxpayer money,'” DeSantis said Thursday.

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