Despite earlier reporting that the Kennedy Center is making moves to include more family-friendly programming, some news outlets have been quick to point out that some of its scheduled shows still don’t quite fit that label. Several of the shows billed for the upcoming season include men dressed as women: Chicago, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Monty Python’s Spamalot. Mrs. Doubtfire is played more for comedic effect than what is traditionally referred to as “drag” but Chicago does feature a character named Mary Sunshine, who is typically portrayed by a male soprano dressed in drag. Moulin Rouge! features an actual drag queen. Previously, President Trump has spoken against drag shows, particularly when children are present, writing on Truth Social, “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.”

Broadway World framed the inclusion of the shows as an act of defiance, without citing any particular evidence. Several LGBTQ+ aimed events have been removed, including a pared down Pride season in June. The Tapestry of Pride program, part of WorldPride 2025, has been canceled as well as a concert by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC. These moves seem part of a broader plan of the Trump administration to limit what has been labeled “DEI” initiatives while Trump’s critics have accused him of transphobia and censorship.

Trump’s oversight of the Kennedy has led to a number of performers canceling planned performances or refusing invitations to the Center. Hamilton chose an alternative venue in DC while members of the cast of Les Misérables have spoken about sitting out a planned performance at the Kennedy Center. Occupy Democrats reported the news as artists turning their backs on a “fascist” president. “It turns out that our nation’s best artists want nothing to do with this fascist president… According to The Washingtonian, the Washington Performing Arts booking organization are avoiding placing talent at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts for the foreseeable future,” it wrote on X.

Former Kennedy Center president, Deborah Rutter, has also pushed back on claims of financial mismanagement by the Trump administration. She stated the Center’s financial decisions had been checked over by a “major accounting firm” and that it had $10 million in a Sustainability Fund when she left her position.