Kennedy Center Sues Musician for $1M Over Trump Name Cancellation

Kennedy Center Sues Musician for $1M Over Trump Name Cancellation

The Kennedy Center in Washington DC is seeking $1 million in damages from musician Chuck Redd after he cancelled his annual Christmas Eve concert, citing the recent addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the cultural institution.

Redd, who has performed at the venue every year since 2006, called off this year’s performance following a board vote to rename the venue the Trump Kennedy Center. In a letter to Redd, Richard Grenell, president of the renamed center, described the cancellation as a “political stunt” that has cost the non-profit arts institution significantly.

Grenell wrote: “Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation, has cost us considerably. This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt.”

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The renaming follows actions taken shortly after Trump assumed office, when he fired several board members and replaced them with allies who then voted to make Trump chairman of the board. The White House said the renaming honours Trump’s role in renovating the Kennedy Center, although the move faced criticism from Democrats, artists, and members of the Kennedy family.

Redd told the Associated Press that the addition of Trump’s name on the center’s website and façade prompted his cancellation. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, has filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name. She argued that since the center was named under a 1964 congressional law, any name change requires an act of Congress.

The Kennedy Center was originally designated as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1963, with construction of the national performing arts center beginning in the 1950s.

Kennedy Center Sues Musician for $1M Over Trump Name Cancellation