Mapplethorpe Foundation Blocks 1981 Roy Cohn Photo License as Trump Retaliation Fears Grow
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 27
Mapplethorpe Foundation Blocks 1981 Roy Cohn Photo License as Trump Retaliation Fears Grow
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 27
Summary
The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation refused to license a 1981 Roy Cohn portrait for Kai Bird’s new biography “American Scoundrel,” leaving the image off the cover ahead of the book’s release next week.
Three people familiar with the deliberations said board members feared President Trump could retaliate if offended by the use of the photo, potentially by threatening the nonprofit’s tax status.
That concern centered on Trump’s record of using government pressure against universities, law firms and TV networks, making the licensing request a test of how political risk is shaping cultural decisions.
The episode is especially striking because Mapplethorpe, who died in 1989, became a symbol of anti-censorship battles, turning the foundation’s decision into a broader free-speech dilemma in the nonprofit world.