Kennedy Center president rebukes performer who called off Christmas Eve show over addition of Trump’s name

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/26/politics/kennedy-center-chuck-redd-trump

34 Comments

  1. unserious-dude on

    From the article —

    >“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment—explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure—is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Grenell, a longtime Trump confidant, wrote to Redd on letterhead bearing the new “Trump Kennedy Center” logo.

    A classic MAGA.

  2. ElysiumSprouts on

    Fwiw, these artists signed contracts with the Kennedy Center, not the Trump-Kennedy center.

    The real insanity is announcing a name change and then having the name installed within 24 hours. It’s gross and disrespectful

  3. They can get acts like Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, or the standup stylings of Rob Schneider at a moments notice to fill this spot. No, really they aren’t doing anything, just call. Seriously. They could even get Kevin Sorbo as an opening act doing his one man show as a has been actor.

  4. Who cares what they think. These vulgarians in charge may be able to Authoritarian the roster, but the performances will soon be AI slop adjacent anyway sine they wouldn’t know culture if it bit them in the ass

  5. Depressed-Industry on

    Just a reminder Richard Grenell has zero qualifications to be acting president of the Kennedy Center.

  6. Some of the artist may have been rightfully concerned that playing at a the venue after the name change would damage their brand and their reputation.

  7. Another Republican funguy … “Grenell was a U.S. State Department spokesperson to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration. Following his State Department tenure, he formed Capitol Media Partners, a political consultancy; he also was a Fox News contributor. Grenell was a foreign policy spokesperson for Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign.[7]”;[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Grenell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Grenell)

  8. he signed a contract to appear at the Kennedy Center not the Trump Center.

    But good luck with your lawsuit.

  9. TarquinusSuperbus000 on

    For a bunch of alpha male winners, these MAGAts sure love to cry when they don’t get validation.

  10. Well, those performers are rebuking this administration for illegally changing the name of the Kennedy Center.

    A 1964 congressional law named the center after the assassinated president. It must be changed by congressional law. The board of directors do not have the power.

    Trump putting his name on the building is nothing more than very expensive graffiti. But it is graffiti that insults the professional entertainers who have worked their lives to be good enough to be asked to perform at the prestigious Kennedy Center.

    Trump has tarnished its prestige. Why would they want to perform there now?

  11. Time to make Chuck Redd’s name go viral. May all his shows for the next three years be sold out and standing room only.

  12. Is “Memorial” still in the name? Is it just me or do they not even realize what the new name is implying?

  13. This guy is a cartoon.

    I remember him being interviewed on Australian TV, and asked why the rest of the world seemed to be opposed to Trump… and his answer was “They hate our freedom”.

    So I knew that I didn’t have to listen to anything else this simpleton had to say.

  14. otherwise_data on

    *Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center:

    “Art is a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude,” Daravi said in a statement to CNN. “The Trump Kennedy Center is a true bipartisan institution that welcomes artists and patrons from all backgrounds—great art transcends politics, and America’s cultural center remains committed to presenting popular programming that inspires and resonates with all audiences.”*

    outrageous. he *illegally* changed the name, stacked the board and the honorees with political loyalists, is threatening to sue an artist….gtfoh.

    the only thing resonating with me is Mr. Redd’s descension to cancel. good for him.

  15. Acting like the performer did something wrong instead of recognizing that you basically just changed your name to “pedophile president and general corruption emporium p.s. also kennedy or what ever”

  16. I understand that trump and project 2025’s single stated goal is to break as many things as possible, but imagine only being able to make 60% of your revenue at one of the (formerly) most highly esteemed preforming arts centers in the world. That’s like…bankrupting a casino.

    Everything trump puts his name on really does turn to shit.

  17. Boogersaidsboogers on

    The Kennedy Center president can eat shit.

    The artists agreed to perform at the Kennedy Center, not the “Donny Trump, AKA the fascist pedophile piece of shit, Center”.