In a recent turn of events, Tavis Forsyth, a contract employee of the Kennedy Center, was dismissed from his position following a controversial YouTube video.
Forsyth, a 32-year-old queer individual who prefers the pronouns "they/them," stripped naked in the video as a form of protest against the changes being implemented at the center under the Trump administration.
Forsyth, who was part of an education division working with students at the center, used the video platform to deliver a 35-minute spoken-word poem, expressing their discontent with the alleged ban on drag performers by the Trump administration.
As reported by The Post Millennial, Forsyth, in the video, questioned their own role in the institution, asking, "Is my complicity inevitable, or am I holding a line on the inside?" However, before Forsyth could make the decision to resign, they were terminated from their position.
In the video, Forsyth stated, "Trump has taken over the Kennedy Center and that's a place where I work. He has vowed to ban drag performers from its stages, and as the saying goes, 'We're all born naked, and the rest is drag.'" Following this statement, Forsyth stripped naked, with a rainbow heart-shaped digital censor covering their genitalia, and posed the question, "Should I quit the Kennedy Center?"
Forsyth further questioned their position at the center, asking, "Does staying make me a collaborator or somehow complicit in a hostile government takeover that's systematically targeting the livelihood and liberty of poor people, queer people, black/brown people, people of color, immigrants, Muslims, victims of war-torn countries, and ethnic cleansing, women?" Forsyth answered their own question with a resounding "yes."
However, Forsyth also considered the potential benefits of remaining at the center, asking, "Do I stay to defend the beautiful people that come to visit? Do I covertly raise my nose at the regime, raise the peace sign high, and do everything in my power to preserve the values of cooperation, creative freedom, and transformative storytelling that I hold so dear?"
The video, which was deemed "extremely disturbing" by Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, particularly due to Forsyth's interactions with minors, was defended by Forsyth as a critique of the erosion of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at the center, according to the National Pulse.
Forsyth, whose bio on the Kennedy Center website has since been removed, was known for their expertise in using theater to effect social change. They were part of a team overseeing the administration of the Washington National Opera summer training program for high school singers across the nation, as reported by the LA Times.
In an interview with the LA Times, Forsyth defended their video, expressing hope that it would "inspire conversation around the role of the artist, and more generally, the role of the citizen." They also expressed a desire for the video to "encourage people to divest from oppressive institutions, to divest from systems of hate."
Forsyth noted the changes being made by the Trump administration at the Kennedy Center, stating, "As they dig their claws deeper into the administrative fabric of the Kennedy Center, they're going to continue dismantling it and undermining all of the values that everyone at the Kennedy Center holds dear."
The Kennedy Center, a national cultural performing arts center located in Washington, D.C, was known for its progressive approach before the takeover by the Trump administration. The recent changes and Forsyth's dismissal highlight the ongoing tension between traditional values and progressive ideals within the institution.
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