John Fetterman and Bob Casey pulled support of LGBTQ William Way Community Center after LibsofTikTok kink parties tweet

U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey both signed letters Tuesday requesting to pull federal funding for the William Way Community Center after learning the LGBTQ-focused nonprofit rents its space for BDSM-kink parties.

But Wednesday, Fetterman (D., Pa.) said his staff withdrew the $1 million funding request to fend off anticipated Republican attacks, while Casey’s office defended pulling the money.

Casey spokesperson Mairead Lynn said the Pennsylvania Democrat believes “that 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.”

Fetterman distanced himself from the decision to pull the funding, first telling reporters in Washington he had no knowledge of it, despite his signature appearing on the letter and then later issuing a statement saying the decision was made because of presumed incoming Republican opposition.

“The choice was either to pull it or watch it get stripped out, attacked by Republicans, and ultimately killed,” Fetterman said.

The William Way Center, which has been a hub of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community since the 1970s, provides meals, job training, and other services to low-income seniors, many of whom identify as LGBTQ. The center also rents its space to groups, including one that hosts monthly kink and fetish parties. The proposed federal funding would not have gone to the group that runs the parties. It was earmarked to go toward a renovation project to make the center’s headquarters on Spruce Street in Center City more accessible and expand its programming space, for which William Way is raising $30 million.

While Republicans could have pushed for an amendment to strip the funding, the outcome of that vote is unknown. The senators’ decision to proactively strip the funding means it has no chance of getting through in this year’s bill.

Fetterman said he would work to get the center federal dollars in next year’s appropriations process. “This is not the end of this fight,” he said.

News of the funding consideration went viral after the controversial far-right social media account LibsofTikTok, which is operated by Chaya Raichik and is notorious for sharing anti-LGBTQ views, condemned Casey and Fetterman for supporting the allocation, calling attention to the fetish parties.

Raichik wrote that the funding “includes $1M of your tax dollars to go towards renovating an LGBTQ Center in PA which boasts rooms to try BDSM and s*x f*tishes and hosts BDSM and s*x k*nk parties. There’s even a k*nk party happening there this weekend!”

That same day as the LibsofTikTok tweet, Fetterman and Casey sent letters rescinding support. Casey’s office said the center’s affiliation with the kink parties was brought to its attention by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which learned about it from a concerned group.

Fetterman said LibsofTikTok should not have sway in congressional decision-making.

“I’m new here, but I wasn’t aware that Democratic values and priorities are dictated by Libs of Tik Tok,” he said in his statement.

The group that hosts monthly kink and fetish parties at the center is called the Aviary, which describes itself on its website as being for “people aged 18 and up interested in BDSM, kink and fetish.” The event takes place every second Saturday of the month from 8 p.m.-1 a.m., according to the Aviary website. The event is not advertised on the center’s calendar online, though the center notes it offers its space for rental.

» READ MORE: House GOP voted to slash federal funding for LGBTQ organizations, including Philly’s William Way Community Center

William Way executive director Chris Bartlett said the center has long been a safe haven for diverse communities. He said he was disappointed to hear the senators withdrew support due to “lies and distortions.”

Bartlett said the center would keep renting to the group as long as it continues to follow the center’s code of conduct, which includes “no sexual activity.”

“The event that the Aviary conducts is within our code of conduct and they promote sexual health and freedom in a legal safe way … we stand by their right to educate our community and create a safe space to do that,” Bartlett said.

The Aviary website says the event currently utilizes five rooms for its parties, and that there are two other rooms that are currently unavailable while the center undergoes renovations.

The description for the event says sex and penetration are not allowed and that “genitals and anuses must remain covered in non-play areas.”

Bartlett said he’s concerned about the precedent of acquiescing to shut down certain programs just because they are criticized, particularly by groups known for expressing homophobia.

» READ MORE: Progressives say John Fetterman has abandoned them. But he says he hasn’t changed.

“If we were to turn our back on this group they would then come for the transgender community, they would come for our archives, they would come for our LGBT seniors … these opponents will stop at nothing.”

Bartlett blamed LibsofTikTok for distorting what the parties were about. “I want to note that the real enemy here is the opponents who put lies and distortions on their site because it puts people, even our greatest allies and supporters, in a place of making really difficult decisions”

As news of the doomed funding broke, several Democrats who represent Philadelphia defended the center, including State Sen. Nikil Saval and State Rep. Ben Waxman. City Councilmember Rue Landau, the body’s first LGBTQ representative, said the funding was jeopardized “by far-right trolls who don’t know a thing about Philadelphia.”

» READ MORE: Casey and Fetterman have a high percentage of LGBTQ staffers. We talked to some about why that matters.

“The center has been a lifeline and a bastion of hope for our community,” Landau said in a statement. “And with LGBTQ+ people under attack across the country it’s never been more important that it receives the resources it needs to continue providing crucial services like senior programs, HIV/AIDS support groups, 12-step meetings and more.”

William Way has struggled to get federal funding this year. In July, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted down several requests for funding of LGBTQ centers, including William Way and two others in Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s district.

All three of the organizations had received similar funding in the past.