Two New Year’s Eve performers have canceled their shows at the Kennedy Center following the performing arts venue’s recent renaming to include President Donald Trump. A veteran jazz ensemble and a New York dance company pulled out of their scheduled performances, according to The New York Times.
The cancellations add to mounting controversy and follow the cancellation of a longtime Christmas Eve jazz concert.
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Renaming sparks artist backlash
Since the board voted to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, the decision has drawn both support and sharp criticism. The most visible reaction, however, has come from artists scheduled to perform there.
Jazz musician Chuck Redd canceled his annual Christmas Eve jazz concert, a fixture at the center for years. Now, he’s being joined by The Cookers, a jazz ensemble, and Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company. Both were slated to perform on New Year’s Eve.
Neither act explicitly cited the name change as the reason for their cancellation. However, the Cookers’ drummer told The Times the decision was “evidently” influenced by it.
In a statement, the band said, “Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice.”
Doug Varone and Dancers also canceled two April performances that were meant to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary. Varone told The Times the decision was “financially devastating but morally exhilarating.” He estimated the cancellations would cost the company about $40,000.
Kennedy Center threatens lawsuit
After Redd cancelled his Christmas Eve performance, the center’s board, led by Trump appointee Richard Grenell, announced plans to pursue a $1 million lawsuit.
In a letter obtained by The Times, Grenell accused Redd of withdrawing “explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming.” He called the move “classic intolerance” and “very costly” to a non-profit arts institution. “Regrettably, your action surrenders to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center,” Grenell wrote.
According to the Associated Press, Redd canceled his show after seeing the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then on the building.
“This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt,” Grenell wrote to Redd.
ABC News reports Grenell plans to file the lawsuit after the holidays.
Legal challenge over the name change
The artist cancellations come as the renaming itself faces a legal challenge.
Earlier this month, Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio trustee of the center, sued Trump and the board. She argued that the Kennedy Center’s name is established in federal law and can only be changed by Congress.
Beatty also alleges the president reshaped the board ahead of the vote by replacing members with political allies. Her lawsuit asks the court to declare the board lacked authority to approve the name change. She also asked to restore the venue’s original name: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
