Budapest museum director fired because of LGBT representations

The poet and cultural politician László L. Simon achieved political success in the wake of Viktor Orbán. Now, as museum director, he falls foul of a law against homosexuals that he once helped pass.

Dhe phenomenon of the revolution eating its own children is not unknown on the political right either. Now a long-time supporter of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the poet and cultural politician László L. Simon, has been hit in Hungary. He was fired as director of the National Museum in Budapest at the beginning of the week. The reason was that he was responsible for an exhibition by the international organization World Press Photo, which, among other things, showed pictures of gays in the Philippines. In the opinion of his right-wing critics, he violated a law against the public portrayal of homosexuals.

The law operates under the label of child protection; among other things, it prohibits making depictions of homosexuals or gender reassignment accessible to minors. Critics see this as open discrimination against sexual minorities, and a majority of EU member states have taken legal action against it. Simon has always publicly defended the law, which he himself helped pass as a member of parliament in 2021.