The Kennedy Center, which was recently renamed after President Donald Trump, is reportedly seeking $1 million from an artist for bailing on a Christmas Eve concert.
Earlier this month, Trump's appointed board at the Washington, D.C. performing arts venue voted to rename itself the 'Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.'
This decision upset longtime center performer, jazz musician Chuck Redd, who decided to cancel their annual Christmas Eve show because of the renaming.
Redd, who has been organizing Jazz Jams engagements at the center since 2006, said: "When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,"
According to Rolling Stone, center president Richard Grenell is now seeking $1 million in damages for Redd's "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 wrote in a letter, per Associated Press.
The president added that the move was "sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left" and accused them of trying to "intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center."
The push for the center to be renamed began when President Trump was elected chair of the board in February but received backlash for trying to decimate inclusive programming.
Earlier this month, President Trump became the first president to host the Kennedy Center Honors, where he awarded 2025 recipients including Sylvester Stallone and Gloria Gaynor.
