PBS legend Ken Burns is facing new backlash — accused of once again erasing LGBTQ figures from U.S. history in his upcoming American Revolution documentary premiering Sunday night.
What Was Erased
Stonewall veteran and Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal tells #ShuterScoop the acclaimed filmmaker’s latest work not only excludes key LGBTQ references but uses a “defamatory and dangerous” stereotype to describe Revolutionary War hero Baron von Steuben, the Prussian general who helped George Washington train America’s first army.
Segal, who famously interrupted Walter Cronkite on live TV in the 1970s to protest the media’s erasure of gay people, says he reached out to Burns’ team after being alerted to a troubling scene. “From my conversation with Burns’ team over the last month, it seems we agreed that most credible historians now accept that Baron von Steuben would be considered a gay man by today’s understanding,” Segal writes. “That is never mentioned in the documentary. They risk erasing the fact that a gay man played a significant and indispensable role in founding this nation.”
Ken Burns Generalizes
Instead, Burns’ film includes just one jarring reference to the general’s sexuality — a single line claiming “he took familiarities with boys.”
“That claim is misleading, damaging, and more harmful than if he’d just kept von Steuben in the closet,” Segal says. “It reinforces the dangerous idea that all gay people are pedophiles.”
Historians have long dismissed that accusation as slander, originating from political rivals of von Steuben in 1777. Paul Lockheart, author of The Drillmaster of Valley Forge, told Segal he does not believe the rumor to be true, and the Smithsonian has likewise called it “unproven.”
What Does Ben Say?
Segal adds that accepting such an allegation at face value “would require the viewer to believe Benjamin Franklin knowingly sent a pedophile to George Washington to train our troops. Franklin was many things, but he was not a fool.”
Indeed, Franklin’s real letter to Washington, which Segal includes, paints von Steuben as a man of “great reputation” and “military experience” whose “zeal for our cause” brought him to America at his own expense. Franklin urged Washington to treat him with “attention and favorable notice.”
“Franklin’s letter — along with the writings of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson — all portray von Steuben as a man of extraordinary integrity and a true hero of the Revolution,” Segal says. “None of that balance or historical nuance appears in Burns’ series.”
Bigger than Just One Film
But the activist says the problem isn’t limited to this film. “In his 2014 series The Roosevelts, he faced criticism for omitting Eleanor Roosevelt’s close and well-documented relationship with Lorena Hickok. In his 2017 documentary on the Vietnam War, there was no mention of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich — the most famous LGBT service member of that era,” Segal writes. “Taken together, these choices form a troubling pattern: showing America that LGBT people don’t exist.”
Burns’ defenders argue that his films focus on “mainstream” historical consensus. But Segal calls that excuse outdated. “LGBT Americans have always been part of our nation’s story,” he insists. “We’re done being erased, sidelined, or misrepresented.”
Philadelphia Gay News founder Segal, who has spent half a century fighting to make LGBTQ people visible in public life, says what makes this omission worse is that it comes from PBS — a taxpayer-funded institution trusted for truth. “Burns’ documentary correctly highlights von Steuben’s crucial role in transforming Washington’s troops and helping win the war,” he concludes. “But it ends that portrayal with the oldest, most dangerous stereotype used against gay men. That isn’t history. That isn’t education. It’s a blatant disservice to the truth, to viewers, and to von Steuben’s legacy.”
Fear Itself
Meanwhile, veteran journalist Andy Humm adds, “Maybe it’s because he fears the reactions of his big donors or maybe it’s because Ken Burns is an effeminate heterosexual and defensive about that — but Burns’ documentaries have NEVER integrated relevant LGBTQ content honestly. Whatever the reason, it is a disgrace. LGBTQ history is American history.”
The controversy now threatens to overshadow PBS’s flagship history brand — and for Segal, it’s personal: “We fought too long to be seen,” he says. “We will keep demanding the accuracy our history deserves.”
Rob Shuter is a celebrity journalist, talk-show host, and former publicist who has represented an A-list roster including Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Kate Spade, Diddy, Jon Bon Jovi, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Jessica Simpson, and HRH Princess Michael of Kent.
He is the author of The 4 Word Answer, a bestselling self-help book that blends Hollywood insight with deeply personal breakthroughs. Rob hosts Naughty But Nice with Rob, a Top-20 iTunes entertainment podcast, and previously served as the only dedicated entertainment columnist at The Huffington Post. A veteran of television, magazines, and red-carpet crisis management, he also led OK! Magazine during its most competitive era.
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