Arts & Entertainment
Arts & Culture Calendar
Visit CultureCapital.com to search for ticketed and free events for theatre, dance, music, opera, museum and art gallery exhibitions, festivals and more held throughout the year.
The Washington Blade has partnered with the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington to bring you an arts & culture guide for Metro DC. Browse through this week’s Hot Hits & Hidden Jewels!
HOT HITS AND HIDDEN JEWELS
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INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
Sunday, July 4
National Archives
202-357-5000
archives.gov
Join the National Archives Building and celebrate July 4 on the Constitution Avenue steps between 7th and 9th Streets. Commemorate this historic day with Mistress of Ceremonies Maureen Bunyan, ABC7/WJLA-TV news anchor, and the annual dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence led by very special guests.
JEFF HUNTINGTON: PLAQUES AND TANGLES
Through July 10
Reyes + Davis Independent Exhibitions
202-255-5050
reyesdavis.com
Huntington’s paintings study telling human gestures and the crackling neural connections they inspire. The show’s images portray subjects with both subtle and abrupt shifts in personality. It’s a blend of rough cuts and brilliant polish, and in the transitional space between the two, the complex nature of each subject emerges.
REDUCED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: COMPLETELY HOLLYWOOD (ABRIDGED)
Through July 11
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org
The “Bad Boys of Abridgment” are back, reducing 175 movies in 100 minutes and condensing every cliché from every movie ever made (plus a few they just made up). It all culminates in the summer’s biggest blockbuster with no stars, no budget, and no popcorn–but plenty of laughs!
SENSORY OVERLOAD
July 7 – August 1
Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design
202-639-1700
corcoran.org
Sensory Overload features artwork that integrates two or more of the five senses–touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound–into a single work or group of artworks. This all-media exhibition aims to arouse the spectator through works that address our physical awareness and creates an environment that explores perception.
Visit CultureCapital.com to search for ticketed and free events for theatre, dance, music, opera, museum and art gallery exhibitions, festivals and more held throughout the year.
Online Culture
Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer
Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters
Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.
According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.
The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.
According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.
The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.
According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”
According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.
The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.
Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.
At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.
Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.
Photos
PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride
LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.
The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
















Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)





















