After President Donald Trump’s name was added to the Kennedy Center, jazz musician Chuck Redd pulled out of his long-running Christmas Eve concert — and the venue’s president is now demanding major financial compensation.
Redd, 67, withdrew from the annual “Jazz Jam” holiday show — an event he has hosted for nearly two decades — after the controversial renaming was announced less than a week before the performance.
On Friday, Dec. 26, Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell said Redd canceled “for partisan political reasons” and notified him that the organization would seek $1 million in damages, according to a letter obtained by Fox News, the Associated Press and The New York Times. Grenell also described the move as a “political stunt.”
“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, 59, wrote.
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In the letter, Grenell criticized what he said were weak ticket sales and limited donor support tied to the event, while also praising Trump, 79, for helping preserve the institution.
“Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation, has cost us considerably,” he wrote. “This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt.”
Grenell closed by saying the venue would not “yield to the pressure tactics” he believes are being used by politically motivated performers.
“True artists perform for everyone regardless of the political affiliation of audience members,” he wrote.
Redd could not be reached for comment.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Dec. 18 that the venue’s board had “voted unanimously” to rename the building “The Trump Kennedy Center,” or, in full, “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
After taking office for his second term, Trump removed previously appointed board members and installed his own picks. The new board then named him chairman of the arts organization, which was dedicated in 1964 as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy.
Because the Kennedy Center was created by an act of Congress, critics have argued that only Congress can formally authorize a name change. Still, the center quickly updated its website and social media branding to “The Trump Kennedy Center,” and Trump’s name was added to exterior signage the following day — prompting Redd to cancel.
Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with well-known jazz musicians, has hosted the holiday concerts since 2006, per AP. He explained his decision in an email to the outlet on Wednesday, Dec. 24, the day the show had been scheduled.
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“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd said, according to AP.
AP also reported that other artists have canceled appearances at the venue this year since Trump took on a larger role. Issa Rae and Lin-Manuel Miranda have both called off scheduled events, according to the outlet.
In a statement to Fox News, Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, said in part: “Any artist canceling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled — they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people.”
