President Donald Trump announced this year’s Kennedy Center Honorees, just months after taking control of the famous arts institution in Washington, D.C. He also said he would host the event himself.
In a Wednesday press conference, Trump revealed the honorees: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, Kiss, and George Strait.
Two actors made the list: Stallone, 79, known for his role as Rocky, and Michael Crawford, 83, who starred in The Phantom of the Opera. The rest are music stars: Kiss, a legendary rock band; Gaynor, famous for I Will Survive; and George Strait, called the “King of Country.”
Earlier, Trump posted on Truth Social about the honorees, jokingly calling the venue the “TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER.” He said the center had “fallen on hard times” but promised to restore it to “the absolute top level of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.”
Staff members at the Kennedy Center were reportedly surprised by the announcement, worried they might not have enough time to sell tickets and sponsorships, according to NPR.
Trump recently removed the institution’s Board of Trustees and president as part of his takeover. The Kennedy Center show is usually aired on CBS. Last year’s honorees included the Grateful Dead, Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, the Apollo Theater, and Arturo Sandoval. Queen Latifah hosted the event in 2024.
The president’s new budget, called the Big Beautiful Bill, allocated $257 million for the center, which currently gets around $40 million. Trump said he agreed to host the event after planners promised it would get higher ratings.
He also expressed interest in renovating the Kennedy Center, saying, “We ended the woke political programming, and we’re restoring the Kennedy Center as the premiere venue for performing arts, anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world. We’re gonna get the best talent in the world.”
