A contract worker at the Kennedy Center has been dismissed after posting a nude protest video online, criticising US President Donald Trump’s leadership of the renowned cultural institution.
Tavish Forsyth, 32, who served as program director at the Kennedy Center’s Opera Institute, uploaded a 35-minute monologue on social media platforms, denouncing Trump’s decision to take over the institution and his reported plans to ban drag performers from its stages.
The video was posted on social media platforms YouTube and X, though the YouTube was censored with a heart graphic.
“Trump has taken over the Kennedy Center, and that’s a place where I work,” Forsyth said in the video, initially appearing clothed and sitting on a bed.
“He vowed to ban drag performers from [the Center’s] stages, and as the saying goes, ‘We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag.’”
In a sudden transition, Forsyth then appeared completely nude for the remainder of the video, where he debated whether to resign from his position. At one point, he declared: “F–k Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center,” before questioning if he should remain to “hold the line” and “defend the vision of this institution that is diverse and inclusive, unlike Trump’s vision for America.”
Forsyth criticised Trump’s recent reforms at the Kennedy Center, which aim to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from its programming. “In truth, our program is radically shaped by a DEI initiative. Our program is DEI — is diverse, equitable, and inclusive,” he said in the video.
At various points, Forsyth expressed disdain for the United States, calling the Kennedy Center a “glorified community centre” under “hostile takeover” and declaring, “Being pro-genocide is all America has ever done.” He also claimed, “The revolution is now,” and stated, “Death awaits us all, and America is no exception.”
His contract was terminated after the video went public.
“The video was extremely disturbing and does not represent the values of the Kennedy Center,” said Roma Daravi, the institution’s vice president of public relations, quoted by the New York Post. “Most concerning of all, his contracted position was specifically to work with minors. Who knows what kind of radical ideology they have been pushing on the youth? Not anymore. They’re fired.”
Forsyth’s biography, previously featured on the Kennedy Center’s website, described him as a “queer artist and educator with Celtic roots” who focuses on “healing, queerness, and connection.” It has since been removed.
Before joining the Kennedy Center, Forsyth reportedly worked as a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Leadership Education.
This comes after Trump, who recently appointed himself as chair of the Kennedy Center, has promised a “Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”