DeSantis said he cut Florida’s arts funding because of “sexual” festivals

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis cited “sexual” festivals in Orlando and Tampa as the reason he blocked more than $32 million in arts grants across Florida this month.

“Your tax dollars go in the form of grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sex festival where all this stuff is done,” DeSantis said during a press conference on Thursday, giving the first explanation for his decision to cut all cultural grants and arts funding from the state budget for the coming fiscal year.

The Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival has been held annually for 33 years and features live theater, concerts and “kid-friendly shows and activities.” The Orlando Sentinel’s arts writer and theater critic noted that at least one of the shows at the May festival “may get sexual — but always for good reason and for maximum comic effect.”

Tampa also hosts the annual International Fringe Festival, which features comedians, puppeteers and other artists.

Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando said the Orlando festival she attended this year was not “sexual.”

“It features drag queens and other forms of artistic expression that DeSantis wanted to censor despite the courts ordering him to do otherwise!” she wrote in a text message.

DeSantis’ Cuts to arts funding shocked organizations across the state and forced them to desperately search for new sources of funding.

The vetoes included $570,500 for the Tampa Museum of Art and $500,000 for ZooTampa in Lowry Park. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Friends of Ybor each expected $500,000 in grants for cultural institutions.

It is not clear whether the Fringe Festival would have received money from this year’s budget. Politico Florida notedThe state funds cultural projects through a ranking system, and a $150,000 item for the festival was ranked low and is unlikely to receive funding this year. More than $15,000 for the Tampa International Fringe Festival was ranked even lower.

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

Tempestt Halstead, producer of the Orlando Fringe Festival, said the event is one of 200 Fringe festivals around the world that “contribute to a global movement of artistic expression and cultural exchange.”

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

DeSantis’ spokespeople did not respond to questions about which events at the festivals had a sexual nature or whether there were other art projects in the state that he objected to.

DeSantis has cracked down on drag shows that allow children and pushed for legislation in 2023 that prohibited venues from admitting children to live adult performances. A federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the law, fearing it violated First Amendment rights. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate the law in November.

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“By rejecting arts and culture grants and making such a statement, he is trying to control and censor the content of the arts,” the Democrat said Senator-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando said this year’s Orlando Fringe Festival attracted 18,000 people.

DeSantis said lawmakers need to “reevaluate” funding for arts projects.

“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.

“I cannot sell the Fringe Festival to the taxpayers and I do not want to try to sell the Fringe Festival to the taxpayers,” he added.

Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.