LGBTQIA+ Celebrities Join Activists To Lobby Against HIV Funding Cuts
Image: Javier Muñoz/Instagram; Peppermint/Instagram
Hamilton star Javier Muñoz, drag icon Peppermint, and other celebrities will join activists in Washington D.C. this week to lobby against proposed cuts to HIV funding.
Congress is set to debate a bill that would cut $1 billion from HIV services and prevention, in addition to the hundreds of millions already lost during the second Trump administration. For more than 35 years, federal HIV programs have garnered bipartisan support, helping those living with the virus access preventative and primary care, housing, mental health services, and vital medication.
The Save HIV Funding campaign says their loss would see significantly reduced access to care for low-income families, those living with chronic conditions, and the uninsured. Black and Latino communities are also disproportionately affected, accounting for more the 65 per cent of new HIV diagnoses.
Currently, over 1.2 million Americans live with HIV, with more than half a million relying on federal funding.
Launched in 2023, the Save HIV Funding campaign is supported by over 150 national and local organisations, beginning in response to proposed Congressional cuts to federal HIV programs, and has successfully helped avert $1.5 billion in domestic HIV funding cuts.
Prominent voices integral to campaign’s visibility
The trip to Congress coincides with the annual U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS, taking place in the city this week.
Best known for his role as the titular role in Hamilton on Broadway, Muñoz is a gay man who has been living with HIV for more than two decades, and has a proven history of using his platform to champion HIV/AIDS advocacy.
Peppermint was the runner up in season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and was the first openly transgender queen cast on the show. She’s gone on to have a trailblazing career, and made history as the first openly transgender person to originate a principal role in Head Over Heels on Broadway.
The pair will be meeting with Congressional offices to share stories and underscore the urgent need for sustained HIV funding on Wednesday, and will unveil an interactive installation on Friday to symbolise the lives impacted if the funding cuts were to go ahead.
“Preserving federal HIV funding is about protecting an entire system of care that millions of Americans depend on,” said a spokesperson from the Save HIV Funding campaign.
“Cutting HIV programs would destabilise this infrastructure, reducing access to care for people living with chronic conditions, low-income families, and uninsured communities across the country.”
