Kennedy Center president rebukes performer who called off Christmas Eve show over addition of Trump’s name
Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell scolded an artist annulment decision The annual Christmas Eve jazz concert is held after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the arts venue in Washington, D.C.
One letterObtained and published by. Associated Press On Friday, Grenell harshly criticized the actions of jazz artist Chuck Redd and praised Trump for his leadership as chairman of the center (the president’s handpicked board role) chose it early in his second term after ousting his predecessor.
Grenell, a longtime Trump confidant, wrote on letterhead bearing the new “Trump Kennedy Center” logo: “Your decision to withdraw at the last minute, clearly in response to the recent renaming of the Center honoring President Trump’s extraordinary effort to save this national treasure, is classic intolerance and very costly for a nonprofit Arts institution.”
Redd told CNN on Wednesday that he canceled the holiday jazz concert he had hosted for nearly two decades after seeing the board’s move to rename the building last week.
“I have been performing at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of my career, and I was saddened to see this name change,” Redd said.
Grenell continued to blame Redd for the financial fallout, which he called a “political stunt” and said the center would seek $1 million in damages.
CNN has reached out to Redd and the Kennedy Center for comment.
Cancellation free “Jazz Jam” show It comes after trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted last week to rename the cultural institution after both the Democratic former president and Trump.
In the hours after the vote, the center updated its website and placed new signs bearing Trump’s name on the building’s facade the next day.
This move quickly sparked outrage from the Kennedy family, MPs and patrons of the historic centre. case A Democratic congressman is questioning whether the board has the authority to change the name of the facility, which Congress designated in 1964 as a monument to the 35th president.
Before renaming, Trump’s overhaul of the center It was already raising concerns about loss of income as both artists and audiences fled to other venues. Artists Others, including Issa Rae, Renée Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds, have resigned from leadership roles or canceled events in the field. And Jeffrey Seller, producer of the hit musical “Hamilton.” canceled the show is scheduled to air early this year.
Delayed ticket sales this holiday season also affected “The Nutcracker,” historically one of the center’s most popular events. About 10,000 seats were sold across seven performances for this year’s production, according to internal sales data reviewed by CNN; this figure was approximately 15,000 seats in each of the performances between 2021 and 2024.
The Kennedy Center issued nearly five times as many tickets for this year’s shows compared to the previous four years, data showed. And this year’s show fell nearly half a million dollars short of its $1.5 million budgeted revenue goal.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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