{"id":2440962,"date":"2025-05-30T12:53:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T16:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kennedy-center-executive-accuses-grenell-of-firing-him-over-resurfaced-comments\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T12:53:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T16:53:35","slug":"kennedy-center-executive-accuses-grenell-of-firing-him-over-resurfaced-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kennedy-center-executive-accuses-grenell-of-firing-him-over-resurfaced-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy Center executive accuses Grenell of firing him over resurfaced comments"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkennedy-center-executive-accuses-grenell-of-firing-him-over-resurfaced-comments%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2440962&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Floyd Brown, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admits-border-is-not-under-control-vows-to-get-it-under-control\/\" title=\"Biden Admits Border Is Not Under Control, Vows To \u2018Get It Under Control\u2019\">appointed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-defector-emails-pipeline-to-obama-admin-seen-as-currency\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Defector Emails: &#039;Pipeline&#039; to Obama Admin Seen as &#039;Currency&#039;\">vice president<\/a><\/a><\/a> of teh John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, claims he was fired shortly after a CNN reporter inquired about old comments he made regarding homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Brown stated that his comments, rooted in his Christian beliefs, had no bearing on his professional interactions or work at the center. He sought clarification from Richard Grenell, the center&#8217;s president, but received no response. In contrast, sources from the Kennedy Center refuted Brown&#8217;s allegations, asserting that Grenell was not involved in his hiring. Brown&#8217;s controversial remarks resurfaced in a video where he criticized the Republican National Committee&#8217;s leadership under Ken Mehlman, who he saeid was &#8220;openly homosexual,&#8221; suggesting this influenced the party&#8217;s stance on traditional marriage. This incident highlights ongoing tensions surrounding LGBTQ+ issues within political and cultural institutions, especially under recent leadership changes at the Kennedy center.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Kennedy Center executive accuses Grenell of firing him over resurfaced comments<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2135335\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The former vice president of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kennedy-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts\">the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts<\/a> said he was fired for comments about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/same-sex-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"same-sex marriage\">same-sex marriage<\/a> after a CNN reporter reached out about it.<\/p>\n<p>Floyd Brown was appointed vice president of the Kennedy Center last month and served under the center&rsquo;s president, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/richard-grenell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Richard Grenell\">Richard Grenell<\/a>. The decision to fire him came two hours after CNN contacted Brown and asked about past statements he made online regarding his views on homosexuality, according to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/floydbrown\/status\/1928070879923081514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Brown wrote in a post on X\">post on X<\/a> by Brown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/washington-secrets\/3426663\/trump-student-visa-overstays-homeland-security-data\/\">Growing threat: Foreign students not going home<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3426801\/texas-us-senators-congressman-from-houston-file-bill-to-protect-lng\/\">Texas&rsquo; US senators, congressman from Houston file bill to protect LNG<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3426800\/some-question-pritzkers-tax-veto-pledge-say-trump-should-cut-funding\/\">Some question Pritzker&rsquo;s tax &lsquo;veto&rsquo; pledge, say Trump should cut funding<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Comments rooted in my personal Christian views, which I have made in the past, have no impact upon my work here at the Kennedy Center nor do they impinge on my interactions with colleagues who do incredible work for the patrons of the Center,&rdquo; Brown said to CNN and in his post on X.<\/p>\n<p>Brown said he requested to speak with Grenell and asked for an explanation of his dismissal, but he was ignored.<\/p>\n<p>A source familiar with the Kennedy Center disputed the accuracy of Brown&rsquo;s claim. The Kennedy Center also said CNN reported Grenell was not involved in Brown&rsquo;s hiring and didn&rsquo;t know him at all.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the comments Brown made resurfaced on X in a video of him <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NextNewsNetwork\/status\/1928358724915068964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"speaking at a Christian event in 2023\">speaking at a Christian event in 2023<\/a>. In the video, Brown refers to Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007, as &ldquo;openly homosexual,&rdquo; and said he tried to fill the RNC with homosexual staff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And that&rsquo;s why we never make any progress on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-to-return-to-full-employment-next-year-if-congress-passes-1-9-trillion-relief-bill-yellen\/\" title=\"US to Return to Full Employment Next Year if Congress Passes .9 Trillion Relief Bill: Yellen\">family issues<\/a>,&rdquo; Brown says in the video. &ldquo;Activists at the local level, we wonder, why aren&rsquo;t our Republican members of Congress fighting for traditional marriage? Because they&rsquo;ve got three staff members who are against it, and that impacts them. And it&rsquo;s a dirty little secret that nobody wants to share.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Brown said these were among the comments that got him fired, according to an X post by <em>Next News Network<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3424692\/richard-grenell-patti-lupone-blow-up-kennedy-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">RICHARD GRENELL SLAMS BROADWAY STAR&rsquo;S CALL TO BLOW UP KENNEDY CENTER: &lsquo;CONDEMN THESE RADICALS&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of Trump&rsquo;s goals since taking office again has been to revamp the Kennedy Center, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/entertainment\/2025\/02\/07\/trump-kennedy-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"according to The Washington Post\">according to the <em>Washington Post<\/em><\/a>. In February, Trump fired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kennedy-center.org\/news-room\/press-release-landing-page\/kennedy-center-president-deborah-rutter-to-step-down\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Deborah F. Rutter\">Deborah F. Rutter<\/a>, the center&rsquo;s former president, and appointed himself as the new chairman, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/us\/politics\/kennedy-center-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"according to The New York Times\">according to the <em>New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The center also lost money last year, to which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded with, &ldquo;The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2135335\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2135335\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kennedy Center exec claims Grenell fired him over past comments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3842,"featured_media":2440963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Richard-Grenell-and-Donald-Trump-2025.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50410,56224,4274,6483,50057],"class_list":["post-2440962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy-2","tag-executive-accusations","tag-firing","tag-grenell","tag-kennedy-center"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Richard-Grenell-and-Donald-Trump-2025.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3842"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2440962"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2440966,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440962\/revisions\/2440966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2440963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2440962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2440962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2440962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}