The flags are flying like normal in Hillcrest.
But the weeks leading up to 2025’s Pride are anything but.
“We want more transparency,” said Clay Kilpatrick, previous chair of the Military Department for San Diego Pride and one signer of the letter sent to the Pride Board.
Controversy came about when Jewish organizations pulled out of the San Diego Pride Festival, citing comments made by music festival headliner Kehlani regarding the Israel-Palestine war.
“There's a huge concern, which is one of the reasons that some of the people are pulling out, like our, our Jewish community is pulling out is for safety. They don't feel safe,” said Kilpatrick.
Despite the singer denying that on their social media, more organizations pulled out, citing the same reason.
The board says it respects the choice, while not adopting any of the headliner's political positions.
Last week, the Pride military department also dropped out -- adding a new reason.
The department claimed a lack of support from the board during recent moves by the Trump administration.
The board tells ABC 10News that's untrue, and that they were "surprised and dismayed."
“We had a productive conversation with the Chair of the Military Department, and are not surprised by the department pulling back from Pride because of the current situation facing the military in Southern California. We are surprised and dismayed, however, that after our positive conversation about some of the grievances they have put forward on their social media post, several of which are frankly untrue and unfounded," the board says. "As one example, our leadership participated in a press conference to object to the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk. There is a coordinated attack on San Diego Pride taking place. We understand that some of our community members are frustrated at this moment. However, many of these new attacks on the organization are aimed at undermining its leadership, and they are only causing harm to community members who rely on the Pride Festival to build community.”
The Pride Board is also facing criticism from within.
A letter detailing a lack of leadership was sent by former Pride staffers.
Those former staffers also told ABC 10News that the board revealed it had hired an HR investigator, among others, to specifically examine those issues.
“If they're doing these things, I applaud them for that, but our ask is they need to be more communicative and more open about what's going on, especially in times right now,” said Kilpatrick.
The Pride Board responded in a new statement Thursday, saying, “Given the current political climate, many LGBTQ+ organizations nationwide are experiencing a decline in corporate sponsorships. Unfortunately, some brands have chosen to pause their sponsorships this year or have chosen not to be as vocal about their participation. This makes it all the more critical for individuals to show up, speak out, and support Pride organizations. We understand our sponsor partners will make decisions based on what they feel is the best path forward for their brands. Whether or not they are participating this year, we look forward to working with them again in the future. As we look ahead to this year’s festival, our focus remains on delivering a world-class event that celebrates and uplifts our community.”
The former staffers are saying they want more communication from the board, now more than ever.
“We do want to pull together and make Pride all inclusive and make people feel safe. It's just that right now a lot of people don't feel that,” said Kilpatrick.
