Trump Kennedy Center Filing $1M Lawsuit Against Musician Who Canceled Christmas Show as Political Protest
Trump Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell has filed a lawsuit against a jazz musician who abruptly canceled this year’s annual “Christmas Eve Jazz Jam” due to Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).
Musician Chuck Redd, host of this year’s annual Christmas Eve concert, canceled the event after the Center’s board of directors voted unanimously to rename the institution “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then a few hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press on Wednesday, hours before the event was scheduled to take place.
Grenell, who worked assiduously to restore a failing institution, does not accept politically motivated cancellation unrelentingly.
“Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation, have cost us greatly,” Grenell wrote Friday in a letter to Redd obtained by Breitbart News. “This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt. »
Grenell criticized the artist for undermining an institution created to promote the arts across the country, not to serve as a haven for liberal elites.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment – explicitly in response to the Center’s recent name change, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure – is classic and very costly intolerance for a nonprofit arts institution,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, your action falls short of the sad intimidation tactics employed by some left-wing elements, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center.”
Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Trump Kennedy Center, echoed Grenell, hammering Redd for elevating petty political grievances above art.
“Any artist who cancels their show at the Trump Kennedy Center due to political differences is neither courageous nor principled – they are selfish, intolerant and have failed to fulfill the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for everyone,” Daravi said in a statement. “Art is a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude. The Trump Kennedy Center is a true bipartisan institution that welcomes artists and patrons from all walks of life – great art transcends politics, and America’s cultural center remains committed to presenting popular programming that inspires and resonates with all audiences.”
Grenell’s letter highlighted the lack of enthusiasm for Redd’s show, noting that “attendance at your Jazz Jam lagged considerably behind our other Christmas and holiday offerings, which drew large crowds and enthusiastic responses,” adding “the most cutting-edge and beloved artists in your genre will always perform regularly, and unlike you, they will do so to sold-out audiences, regardless of their political leanings.”
The Center has long been a sanctuary for ultra-liberals to gather and worship Democratic Party causes and radical social initiatives like DEI and the transgender agenda.
Previous leadership of the Trump Kennedy Center displayed a tendency to recruit artists that betrayed its greater interest in politics than art. The cancellation of Redd for political reasons, one of many reasons imposed by left-wing artists, is just the latest example. In February, several left-wing stars left the Center after Trump named himself president.
Yet even though the center supported the Democrats, they did not reciprocate. Grenell, named president of the Trump Kennedy Center in January, inherited poorly maintained and outdated physical facilities and finances in perhaps even worse shape.
Trump and Grenell have worked to rebuild the Center’s foundation and reorient its agenda toward its core mission — a daunting task, but one that is already bearing fruit.
Under Trump’s leadership, the Kennedy Center Honors raised a record $23 million, nearly double the $12.7 million raised last year under President Joe Biden, Fox News Digital reported.
And in September, the center’s annual gala raised $3.45 million for the National Symphony Orchestra, a record for an annual gala.
“President Trump’s vision of making the Kennedy Center accessible to more people is clearly working. Half of the attendees were first-time guests, and their enthusiasm shattered fundraising expectations, nearly triple what had ever been done before,” Grenell said at the time.
Trump has significantly raised the profile of the Trump Kennedy Center by personally attending events and giving frequent updates on the Center’s work, attracting the attention of millions of Americans and potential clients unfamiliar with what has long been a haven for Washington’s liberal elites.
But Democrats and their left-wing allies are continuing their protests, pointing to an initial decline in ticket sales caused largely by their own political boycotts, which current leaders are reversing through improved programs. A Democratic lawmaker even sued Trump over the name change.
Trump, Grenell and their teams remain undeterred, continuing their work to rejuvenate the Center and establish its financial viability by expanding its offerings and increasing its appeal to a broader, more representative audience of America.
In mid-December, before the board’s vote, Trump, responding to a question from Nick Gilbertson of Breitbart News, insisted that the Center now better serves all Americans in addition to being on better financial footing.
“I think it’s really gotten a lot better in the last ten months, which is since we’ve been here, and we’re making it great,” he said from the Kennedy Center Honors red carpet. “We’re going to make it physically awesome as a building. So you won’t even believe how beautiful it will be.”
“And we saved the Kennedy Center,” Trump added. “It’s a big thing.”
Bradley Jaye is deputy political editor of Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
