An LGBTQ+ community center in Philadelphia is losing more than $1 million in federal grants after being accused of hosting sex parties, according to 6ABC.
Chris Bartlett, executive director of the William Way Center said: "We're disappointed, we're outraged."
"We provide space for hundreds of groups a year," he added. One of those parties, as was pointed out by LibsOfTikTok on X, is The Aviary, which 6ABC says 'hosts kink parties'.
Gil Cnaan, co-founder of The Aviary, offered up this riveting defense: "Almost anything could be a kink. A lot of people are into various forms of spanking."
"We always have an educational space set up. Then we have an open play space where you can try out a whole bunch of different things," he continued. "You have benches you can put people over for spanking. You have places where you can tie people up and suspend them, but we also have a room that's like blanket forts and coloring books."
"There's no sex at Aviary. It's not only against the venue's rules, but it's also against my insurance company's rules, and it's not the party for that," Cnaan added.
See? Things are totally normal down at the ole' community center. What was everyone getting so worked up for?
"The choice was either to pull it or watch it get stripped out, attacked by Republicans and ultimately killed," Sen. Fetterman said of the funding.
Even Democratic senator Bob Casey said: "Consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want in their free time, but these types of appropriations projects warrant the highest level of scrutiny on behalf of taxpayers."
"If they didn't lie about us, they'd lie about somebody else," Cnaan concluded.
Regardless, the center's website says: "In these challenging times, the William Way LGBT Community Center, and what it represents, has evolved to meet the needs of the diverse people it serves."
It continues: "We want all LGBTQIA+ people to feel safe, connected, and empowered. We strive to be a community center whose staff, management, and board reflect the vibrant and richly diverse communities we serve."
Under its "Wellness Programs" (we swear we are not making this up), the center says it is also hosting a "series of anti-capitalist financial planning workshops" hosted by someone called River Nice (they/them), described as "an anti-capitalist financial planner, meaning they acknowledge the harms of white supremacist, patriarchal capitalism and help queer individuals and families use their money to get as close to their ideal lives as possible!"
