Singer Gloria Gaynor has been donating to Republican politicians, an investigation into Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings by the liberal news website MeidasTouch showed.

The “I Will Survive” singer was recently announced by the president as one of several artists who will receive a Kennedy Center Honor as he took a more personal role in choosing this year’s nominees.

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Some people, like The View’s Ana Navarro, asked Gaynor not to accept the award from a president who has attacked so many people’s rights.

“Look, the woman is a goddess and deserves all the flowers that come her way,” Navarro said of Gaynor. “But I wish she wouldn’t accept an award from the hands of a man who has attacked the rights and history of women, people of color and LGBTQ. The gay community in particular, helped turn her signature song into an anthem.”

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However, it was unclear where Gaynor (whose real name is Gloria Fowles) stood on electoral politics. In 2017, she even said in a speech that she’s “really not a political person, so I’m not about to really become political.” She vaguely stated that “a lot needs to change,” but didn’t talk about specific policies.

Her political donations, though, tell a different story. In 2016, she made a small donation of $35 to Ben Carson’s Republican campaign, but that was her only campaign contribution until 2023.

But between 2023 and 2025, she made 64 political donations, many through the WinRed PAC, a political action committee that passes along donations to Republican campaigns. She also donated directly to the campaigns of several Republicans, including those of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), both of whom are anti-LGBTQ+.

MeidasTouch compiled a list of her contributions during this time period, totaling approximately $22,000.

• Mike Johnson – $2,160.57
• Kevin McCarthy – $356.15
• The National Republican Senatorial Committee – $1,190.53
• Marsha Blackburn – $2,041.50
• Dave McCormick – $,1223.05
• Josh Hawley – $1,242.28 
• Ted Cruz – $476.18
• Marco Rubio – $114.10
• Maria Elvira Salazar – $242.18
• Mazi Pilip –  $682.28
• Elise Stefanik – $1,173.05
• Nick Begich – $847.76
• Wesley Hunt – $868.00
• Jim Jordan – $1.173.05
• Vivek Ramaswamy – $1,219.14
• Nikki Haley – $1,123.05
• Ben Carson – $235.00
• Steve Garvey – $1,023.05
• Mayra Flores – $1,123.05
• Daniel Norber – $1,115.04
• Tayler Rahm – $1,065.04
• Service and Honor / Jake Ellzey – $827.52
• New Journey PAC – $610.25

New Journey PAC is a political organization for Black conservatives. All of Gaynor’s donations to specific campaigns went to Republican campaigns.

There is no indication that she has donated money to the current president. In fact, she donated to the primary campaigns of several of his opponents, including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Gov. Nikki Haley, both of whom are anti-trans.

While Gaynor’s music is loved by many in the LGBTQ+ community, she has not stood up for LGBTQ+ rights. In fact, several years after the release of “I Will Survive,” she became a Christian and distanced herself from a past she considered sinful.

Asked in a 2007 interview with the U.K.’s Radio 4 if she had any opposition to homosexuality, Gaynor said of the gay community, “I want to lead them to Christ and what he has for them. I want to lead them to Him. I want to lead them to truth.”

She said her “I Will Survive” anthem provided “a platform for my purpose, which is to bring the love of Christ to all of my fans. Because they trust me, I think.”

It’s unclear what the president knows about Gaynor’s politics, but he did say earlier this month that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the honorees, and he “turned down plenty” of people who were “too woke” or too liberal.

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