The White House took umbrage after a guest on CNN said the Kennedy Center had chosen to honor 81-year-old Gloria Gaynor merely because she is a person of color.
On August 13, President Donald Trump unveiled this year’s Kennedy Center honorees, which include Gaynor, known for hit songs “I Will Survive” and “Eye of the Tiger.”
Tia Mitchell, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Washington bureau chief, told CNN’s This Morning Weekend Saturday that Gaynor had been selected because of diversity considerations.
“I do believe as much as the Trump administration has attacked [diversity, equity, and inclusion], they wanted a person of color on the list of Kennedy Center Honorees,” Mitchell said. “The fact that Gloria Gaynor is the one person of color on the list indicates that they struggled ot find a person of color to agree to be on the list.”
While the Center usually picks “people who are icons in their genre of the arts” with “a huge body of work,” Mitchell described Gaynor as “basically a one-hit wonder.”
White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung took Mitchell to task on X.
“Some dipshit named Tia Mitchell went on CNN to say legendary singer Gloria Gaynor doesn’t deserve to be a Kennedy Center Honoree and only chosen because she’s Black,” Cheung posted. “Liberal ‘journalists’ will twist an inspiring story because it involves Pres. Trump.”
“Total TDS,” he added, employing the oft-used acronym for “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Some dipshit named Tia Mitchell went on CNN to say legendary singer Gloria Gaynor doesn’t deserve to be a Kennedy Center Honoree and only chosen because she’s BlackLiberal “journalists” will twist an inspiring story because it involves Pres. TrumpTotal TDS@ajconwashington pic.twitter.com/Je4Jfa1aMU
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) August 17, 2025
The other Kennedy Center honorees include action man Sylvester Stallone, the band KISS, country star George Strait, and English actor Michael Crawford.
The View’s Anna Navarro encouraged Gaynor to turn down the award, saying on X earlier this week, “Don’t do it, Gloria!”
“Look, the woman is a goddess and deserves all the flowers that come her way,” Navarro said. “But I wish she wouldn’t accept an award from the hands of a man who has attacked the rights and history of women, people of color, and LGBTQ.”
Tom Cruise also reportedly turned down a lifetime achievement award from the Kennedy Center, The Washington Post reported.
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