Kennedy Center seeks $1m from musician who cancelled after Trump name added to venue

The head of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC has claimed $1 million (£740,000) in damages from the musician who canceled his concert after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the venue.

Chuck Redd canceled his annual Christmas Eve performance since 2006, citing the board’s vote to rename the site the Trump Kennedy Center.

In his letter, Richard Grenell said the cancellation was a “political stunt” and “cost us quite a lot.” Redd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after taking office, Trump fired all of the center’s board members and replaced them with allies; they also later voted to make Trump chairman of the board.

Grenell, president of the Trump Kennedy Center, wrote in his letter to Redd that his failure to attend the concert was “a classic act of intolerance and very costly for a non-profit Arts institution.”

He added: “Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last minute cancellation, have cost us quite a bit.

“This is your official notification that we will demand $1 million in damages from you for this political demonstration.”

Last week, the White House announced that the center’s board of directors had voted unanimously to rename the cultural institution the Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

A day later, teams were seen engraving the president’s name on the facade of the building. The website and social media accounts have also been renamed.

The White House said the renaming effort was in recognition of Trump’s actions to renovate the building, but the move was criticized by Democrats, many artists and members of the Kennedy family.

“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and on the building hours later, I chose to cancel our concert,” drummer and vibrophonist Redd told the Associated Press news agency earlier this week.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, recently filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name from the headquarters.

In his lawsuit, he argued that since the center was named in a 1964 law, changing its name should require an “act of Congress.”

The lawsuit states that Beatty was called to a meeting about the name change, but was muted when he tried to voice his objection. He is one of several lawmakers designated as board members under U.S. law.

Work on a national performing arts center began in the 1950s, and after the 35th president Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Congress decided to turn it into a living monument to him.