The Qommittee, a national network of drag artists and allies, has launched a petition calling on sponsors of the Kennedy Center to suspend funding to the center until artistic independence is restored, and to redirect support to banned or censored artists.

The petition, which has so far garnered 102,207 signatures, comes in the wake of Trump adding his name to the center and the subsequent wave of artists canceling their shows in response. 

“While Trump won’t back down, the donors who contribute nearly $100 million annually to the Kennedy Center can afford to take a stand,” the petition reads. “Money talks. When donors fund censorship, they don’t just harm one institution — they tell marginalized communities their stories don't deserve to be told.”

Since Trump’s takeover of the center last February, he has publicly announced that he would end the family-friendly drag shows the center occasionally hosted. 

In 2025, canceled events at the center included the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington shows and the center’s Pride Month schedule. 

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump criticized the Kennedy Center’s past programming, particularly those that showcased drag culture. According to the Washingtonian, Trump has been motivated to reconfigure the Kennedy Center Honors to reflect his own tastes. 

As drag artists have staged protests, ticket sales at the center have continued to plummet significantly compared to previous years. Additionally, Trump’s recent broadcast debut as an awards show host for the Kennedy Center Honors drew 2.65 million viewers in 2025, compared to 4.1 million viewers for the event in 2024. 

“The response to President Trump's unprecedented Kennedy Center takeover, censorship and drag ban has been overwhelming,” Qommittee’s petition continues. “The Kennedy Center belongs to all Americans. When the government starts banning certain types of performances from our stages, it sets a dangerous precedent for all artistic expression.”

As reported in the Advocate, the center's major donors, who have made gifts of $1 million or more annually, include the Boeing, Paramount, and Wells Fargo companies. Others that have contributed $500,000 or more annually include Capital One, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Meta, and United Airlines.

“The Trump-Kennedy Center is now America's cathedral to censorship,” said Blaq Dinamyte, drag king and Qommittee President. “The first official act was to ban the voices and art of LGBTQ+ people and people of color at the Kennedy Center, and now they've officially changed the name by doing what? Literally muting Congresswoman Beatty and not counting her vote in opposition. This is not about one building or one institution — this is about who gets to exist in American culture.”