Musician who canceled Kennedy Center holiday performance asks for suit to be dismissed
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Redd, musician Canceled Christmas Eve show At the Kennedy Center to protest the President Donald Trump’s His influence on the venue means asking the judge to dismiss the performing arts institution’s lawsuit against him.
In a motion filed Friday in D.C. Superior Court, Redd’s attorneys said the breach of contract lawsuit should be dismissed because he had no contractual obligation. The motion included a contract provided by the Kennedy Center that the artist never signed.
But his lawyers argued that more than contract law was at stake, portraying the Kennedy Center’s lawsuit as an effort to intimidate artists.
“The Trump Kennedy Center filed this lawsuit to send a message to anyone who dares to openly oppose the decisions of those in power,” attorneys Debra S. Katz and Lisa J. Banks said in a statement. he said.
Kennedy Center representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the motion.
Redd, a drummer and vibraphonist who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has headlined the holiday “Jazz Songs” at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He canceled his performance last year shortly after Trump’s hand-picked board of directors voted in place at the Kennedy Center. add president’s name to the facility.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and on the building hours later, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press in an email at the time.
A few days after his decision, Richard GrenellThe then-president of the Kennedy Center sent him a letter. cancellation call “classic intolerance and too costly for a non-profit Arts institution.” Grenell threatened to seek $1 million in damages, and the Kennedy Center filed suit on March 6.
Grenell left his job early He was replaced this month by Matt Floca, who previously led the Kennedy Center’s facilities operations. Trump will close the Kennedy Center later this summer for renovations that are expected to take about two years.
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Associated Press writer Hillel Italie in New York contributed to this report
