DeSantis said he cut Florida’s arts funding over ‘sexual’ festivals

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis cited “sexual” festivals in Orlando and Tampa as the reason he vetoed more than $32 million in arts funding across Florida this month.

“You have your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sexual festival where they’re doing all this stuff,” DeSantis said during a news conference Thursday.

The Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival, held annually for 33 years, has live theater, concerts and “kid friendly shows and activities.” The Orlando Sentinel’s arts writer and theater critic noted that at least one of the shows at the festival in May “can get sexual — but always for a good reason and maximum comic effect.”

Tampa also has an annual International Fringe Festival, which has featured comedians, puppeteers and other artists.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said the Orlando festival, which she attended this year, was not “sexual.”

“It does feature drag queens and other forms of artistic expression that DeSantis has wanted to censor despite courts telling him otherwise!” she wrote in a text message.

It’s not clear whether the Fringe festival would have gotten money from this year’s budget. As Politico Florida noted, the state funds cultural projects through a ranked list, and a $150,000 item for the festival was ranked low, likely beyond the point of receiving any funding this year. More than $15,000 for the Tampa International Fringe Festival was ranked even lower.

“It’s like, how many of you think your tax dollars should go to fund that?” DeSantis said. “Not very many people would do that.”

Organizers of the Orlando festival did not return calls and a message left on their media line.

DeSantis’ spokespeople did not respond to questions about which events at the festivals were sexual, or whether there were other arts projects around the state he objected to.

DeSantis has cracked down on drag shows that allow children, and he pushed for legislation in 2023 that barred venues from admitting children to adult live performances. A federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the law over concerns it violated First Amendment rights. The U.S. Supreme Court in November refused to reinstate it.

DeSantis’ comments Thursday were the first he’s made about his decision to cut the entirety of the cultural grants and arts funding from the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The decision stunned organizations across the state and left them scrambling to find new sources of funding.

DeSantis’ vetoes included $570,500 for the Tampa Museum of Art and $500,000 for ZooTampa at Lowry Park. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Friends of Ybor each expected to receive $500,000 in cultural facilities grants.

“By vetoing arts and culture grants and making such a statement, he is trying to control and censor the content of the arts,” said Democratic Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando. He said this year’s Orlando Fringe festival drew 18,000 people.

DeSantis said the Legislature needs to “reevaluate” how arts projects are funded.

“When I see money being spent that way, I have to be the one to stand up for taxpayers and say, You know, what, that is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars,” DeSantis said.

“I can’t sell the Fringe Festival to taxpayers, nor would I want to try to sell the Fringe Festival to taxpayers,” he added.

Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.