The president of Washington DC's prestigious Kennedy Center has launched a fierce attack on a veteran musician, demanding $1 million in damages after he cancelled a long-standing Christmas Eve performance in protest at the venue being renamed after former US President Donald Trump.
A Festive Tradition Abruptly Cancelled
Drummer and vibraphone player Chuck Redd made the decision to pull his annual Holiday Jazz Jam, which he has presided over since 2006. The cancellation came just days after the White House announced that the arts complex would bear Trump's name, a move Redd explicitly cited as his reason.
"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 explained in an email to the Associated Press. He described the event as a "very popular holiday tradition" that often featured student musicians, making the cancellation particularly sad.
Leadership Condemns "Political Stunt"
In a sharply worded letter shared with the press, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, a Trump ally appointed by the former president, accused Redd of "classic intolerance." Grenell claimed the musician's last-minute withdrawal, "explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming," was very costly to the non-profit institution.
Grenell stated he would seek the seven-figure sum as compensation "for this political stunt," framing the renaming as honouring Trump's "extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure."
Legal and Historical Controversy Surrounds Renaming
The controversy taps into deeper legal and historical disputes. The centre was established by Congress in 1964 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, assassinated the previous year. Scholars and historians argue that the law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the centre a memorial to anyone else or placing another person's name on the building's exterior.
The renaming was approved by a Trump-appointed board after Grenell replaced the previous leadership. In response, Kennedy's niece, Kerry Kennedy, has vowed to remove Trump's name once he leaves office. Former House historian Ray Smock is among those stating that any such changes legally require Congressional approval.
As of now, Chuck Redd has not publicly responded to the demand for damages, leaving a major cultural institution embroiled in a bitter dispute that blends art, politics, and legacy.
