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Drag artists shared their experiences attending the Kennedy Center on a powerful night out

“My drag is an active stance against everything this man seems to stand for.”

drag, drag queen, drag artist, drag king, kennedy center

Trump banned drag from the Kennedy Center stage, but he said nothing about drag artists in the audience.

Photo by Rochelle Brown on Unsplash
Elyssa Goodman
By Elyssa GoodmanJun 16, 2025
Elyssa Goodman

See Full Bio

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump shouted from TruthSocial “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA” would be allowed on the Kennedy Center, but he said nothing about the audience. Four drag artists knew this well as they attended the Kennedy Center’s opening night of popular musical Les Misérables, itself known in part for commenting on themes of abuse of power. After the performance, all of the drag artists took to social media to recount their experiences.

They had all been given tickets to the show by The Qommittee, a D.C. based nonprofit dedicated to “bringing drag artists together to protect each other, support each other, and help each other thrive.” The tickets were donated to The Qommittee in part by “season ticket holders, in order to protest ‘Trump’s presence at the show, following his ban of drag at the center,’” The Qommittee told The Daily Beast.

While many outlets reported both joy and jeers for the president upon his arrival, even more commented on the presence of the four vibrantly attired drag artists, Vagenesis, Tara Hoot, Ricky Rosé, and Mari Con Carne. The drag artists had many supporters in the audience, they shared, with some people even coming up to them to ask for photos and autographs; others ignored them and refused to make eye contact.

“We had so many kind words and people come up to us tonight. It was just so delightful. And for this old broad to go in there–I'm not one for a lot of risk taking, and it was delightful,” drag queen Tara Hoot shared on Instagram. “We had the best time. So you're brave, you're strong and you're gorgeous, darling. You do what you can to fight the fight and take the wind out of some people sails, all right? Change the narrative, okay? So hopefully we did that a little bit, and we got to enjoy a beautiful show with talented musicians and talented singers and performers.” While there was some nervousness when they arrived at the theatre, not knowing how they’d be received, Hoot shared she felt the love from the Kennedy Center staff and thanked them for being so encouraging.

Vagenesis had a similar experience, and added on Instagram that for her a high point was “that a lot of the people who were cheering for Trump and for Vance…especially the blonde women who looked like they worked for Fox News, were loving our outfits, wanting to take pictures with us, just really enjoying our presence,” she shared. “We were there to enjoy art…Sometimes just being present can be enough. And I hope that we show people that at the end of the day, drag performers are just trying to exist. We're just trying to love art and appreciate each other and build community and have a good time. And it's nothing more than that.”

Drag king Ricky Rosé added on Instagram, “What a wonderful night for the theatre! Getting a standing ovation followed by DJT getting overwhelmingly booed wasn’t on my bucket list, but we checked it off last night!”

Mari Con Carne also shared on Instagram that she started doing drag close to when Trump was elected the first time. It was then that she “vowed to myself that I was going to be more Latinx and and queer than I had ever been,” she wrote. “My drag is an active stance against everything this man seems to stand for.” She said it took a lot for her to not confront him, and instead “had to remind myself that even being there, making eye contact, and standing proud in who I am was enough.”

Sometimes all you have to do is show up as yourself and let the rest happen.

donald trumpdrag artistsdrag kingdrag queenkennedy centerles misrablesmari con carnequeerricky rosetara hootthe qommitteevagenesistheatrelgbtqdrag

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