FL Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million from the state’s budget for the arts. His primary reasoning was that he refused to have Florida tax dollars fund sexually explicit art festivals, specifically mentioning the annual Fringe Festival.
DeSantis sees himself as a defender of the taxpayer. He stated at a press conference, “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.” Stuff? Dang Ron, that, like, uh, sounds, like, super bad, man.
While Ron DeSantis seemed incapable to specifically mention what sexually explicit content was being shown at the Fringe Festival, he also didn’t have specifics on whether it was the Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival or the Tampa International Fringe Festival he was concerned about. While the festivals do feature drag performances, something DeSantis has warred against in the past, there are no documented instances of graphic or inappropriate sexual art at these festivals. Fringe Festivals are actually a positive for Florida, receiving nearly 20,000 attendees in May and, along with other art organizations funded by these grants, raising hundreds of millions in tax revenue.
This veto is merely the latest act in DeSantis’ culture war against the “woke virus.” Other notable attacks included bills revoking business licenses to venues that host drag shows and banning government buildings from flying Pride flags, which were both overturned and rejected, respectively.
This budget cut doesn’t just hurt the Fringe Festival, either. According to Politico reporter Gary Fineout, DeSantis’s power only allowed him to establish the amount of funding, but not where the funding goes. The Fringe Festivals most likely wouldn’t have received that much tax dollar support. By chopping down the entire orchard to get rid of one pesky tree, DeSantis has affectively gutted the government support that other institutions like the Tampa Museum of Art and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium would typically receive.
