Kennedy Center President Demands $1M from Musician Who Canceled Christmas Eve Show Over Donald Trump Venue Rename

NEED TO KNOW

• Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell is demanding damages from Chuck Redd, the jazz musician who canceled his Christmas Eve Jazz Jam concert at the venue

• The longtime Jazz Jam host canceled shortly after the site was renamed the Trump Kennedy Center on both its website and building sign

• “This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt,” Grenell wrote in a letter to Redd

After President Donald Trump attached his name to the Kennedy Center, jazz musician Chuck Redd backed out of his annual Christmas Eve concert. Now, the venue’s president is demanding steep financial compensation.

The performer, 67, pulled out of the yearly “Jazz Jam” holiday show — which he has hosted for almost two decades — in the wake of the controversial renaming, announced less than a week before the event.

On Friday, Dec. 26, Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell criticized the musician’s decision to cancel “for partisan political reasons” and requested $1 million in damages, according to a letter obtained by Fox News, the Associated Press and The New York Times. He also called Redd’s cancellation 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, said in the letter.

The venue president went on to criticize Redd for an alleged lack of ticket sales and to praise Trump, 79, for rescuing the center “from almost certain destruction” before formally requesting damages from the longtime Christmas Eve Jazz Jam host.

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

“This institution remains dedicated to excellence and accessibility for generations to come, and we will not yield to the pressure tactics being directed at us from political performers on our stages,” Grenell concluded. “True artists perform for everyone regardless of the political affiliation of audience members.”

Redd could not be reached for comment.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt first announced on Dec. 18 that the board of the historic venue had “voted unanimously” to rename the building “The Trump Kennedy Center,” or “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” in full.

Shortly after taking office, Trump purged the appointed members of the center’s board, installing his own appointees. The Trump-friendly board then established Trump as chairman of the arts organization, which was dedicated in 1964 as a “living memorial” to assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

The Kennedy Center was established by an act of Congress, and critics have argued that only Congress can authorize a formal name change.

Still, the center updated its logo on the website and social media to read “The Trump Kennedy Center” almost immediately, and the following day, Trump’s name was added to the signage on the building’s exterior — prompting Redd’s cancellation.

The drummer and vibraphone player, who has toured with famed jazz musicians, has hosted the annual holiday concerts since 2006, per AP. He explained his reasoning for the cancellation in an email to the outlet on Wednesday, Dec. 24 — the day the show was originally scheduled to take place.

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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.

The jazz performer is not the only artist who has called off a scheduled appearance at the center since Trump became more involved with the historic venue in his second term. According to AP, both Issa Rae and Lin-Manuel Miranda have also canceled shows this year.

In a statement to Fox News, Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, 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.”

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