A far-right political activist was fired from a senior leadership role at the Kennedy Center just hours after CNN started asking about his past anti-gay statements and conspiracy theories about Barack Obama.
Floyd Brown, whose appointment to the role was never formally announced, previously called homosexuality “a punishment” against the U.S. and condemned the legality of gay sex, in addition to calling Obama a Muslim and questioning his birth certificate, and CNN's KFile reported that he was ousted after those past statements were publicized.
“I refused to recant and was shown the door,” Brown posted on X. “[Kennedy Center interim president Rick Grenell] preemptively fired me for my Christian beliefs on marriage."
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Grenell did not respond to a request for comment, but a source familiar with the Kennedy Center confirmed to CNN that Brown, a co-founder of the conservative nonprofit Citizens United, is no longer there and insisted Grenell did not know him or have any involvement in his hiring.
Brown’s leadership role was listed on his LinkedIn page and his appointment was confirmed by several sources involved with the Kennedy Center.
In addition to his role in founding Citizens United, Brown helped to produce the infamous and racially charged Willie Horton ad during the 1988 presidential campaign and more recently was executive director of Young America’s Foundation.
Brown worked at the Kennedy Center for about a month, according to sources, and donors and staffer had expressed concerns about him potentially driving away the center’s more frequent and core donors in favor of traditional political donors.
