NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed his event on antisemitism was abruptly canceled by a venue in New York.
Kennedy was to host a pro-Israel event on Wednesday with Rabbi Shmuley at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. However, the venue canceled the event on Monday with no explanation.
“The New York Society for Ethical Culture just CANCELED my event with Rabbi Shmuley scheduled for tomorrow night,” Kennedy tweeted on Monday. “They’re evidently under tremendous pressure since they violated a binding contract and canceled without explanation.”
The Democratic candidate blamed the cancellation on political censorship, saying it “shows the DNC’s fierce determination and awesome power to censor criticism of an embattled President.”
He used this cancellation as an opportunity to publicly campaign for protecting free speech.
However, the New York Society for Ethical Culture released a statement to NewsNation, explaining why the venue canceled Kennedy’s event.
“Upon learning the details of this rental, the Society’s leadership determined that it was inconsistent with the longstanding principles and values of the Society and exercised our right to cancel the rental. Our reasoning was shared with the renter. No contract had been finalized, and no outside organization or individuals were consulted in our decision,” Ed Beck, the venue’s communication manager, told NewsNation.
The venue’s statement contradicts Kennedy’s claims that it had canceled the event without an explanation as well as that there was a binding contract between the venue and Kennedy.
Kennedy’s campaign secured a new location for the event, announcing it would be at The Glasshouse in New York City.
Previously, Kennedy has come under fire for comments he made about the origins of COVID-19 and for posing the idea that coronavirus “ethnically targeted” certain groups while sparing others such as those with Chinese and Jewish origins.
Now, Kennedy is pushing back on his comments, claiming he has done nothing wrong and saying as much while under oath testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
But this isn’t new to Kennedy. He has seen some of his interviews removed from websites like YouTube, including an interview with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.
Despite all of the criticism he has received, Kennedy is still polling in double digits nationwide in pursuit of the Democratic nomination.