The Kennedy Middle says it’s planning authorized motion after jazz musician Chuck Redd canceled an annual vacation live performance. Redd pulled out after President Trump’s identify appeared on the constructing.
/Robert Severi
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/Robert Severi
The Kennedy Middle says it plans to file a $1 million lawsuit in opposition to jazz artist Chuck Redd, after the musician canceled his annual Christmas Eve efficiency. The Related Press first reported that Redd pulled out of the present days after President Trump’s identify was added to the outside of the performing arts heart in Washington, D.C.
In an electronic mail to NPR on Saturday, Kennedy Middle spokesperson Roma Daravi stated Redd’s choice is a disservice to the humanities.
“Any artist cancelling their present on the Trump Kennedy Middle over political variations is not brave or principled—they’re egocentric, illiberal, and have failed to satisfy the fundamental obligation of a public artist: to carry out for all folks,” she stated.
Redd, a world performer on drums and vibraphone, hosted the middle’s Christmas Jazz Jam for a few years. NPR’s messages to Redd weren’t returned Saturday morning.
“Once I noticed the identify change on the Kennedy Middle web site after which hours in a while the constructing, I selected to cancel our live performance,” he informed the AP.
Kennedy Middle President Richard Grenell despatched a scathing letter to Redd on Friday, criticizing him and calling the cancellation a political stunt. The middle shared the letter with NPR.
“Regrettably, your motion surrenders to the unhappy bullying ways employed by sure components on the left, who’ve sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our nationwide cultural heart,” it reads.
In a put up on X on Friday, Grenell wrote: “The left is boycotting the Arts as a result of Trump is supporting the Arts. However we won’t allow them to cancel exhibits with out penalties. The Arts are for everybody – and the Left is mad about it.”
A number of artists have pulled out of performances and reduce ties with the Kennedy Middle since Trump changed the board and was elected chairman. In March, Hamilton canceled its 2026 run on the Kennedy Middle. Actor and producer Issa Rae additionally known as off her look. Folks musician Rhiannon Giddens moved her live performance to a unique venue within the metropolis.
Trump’s identify was added to the Kennedy Middle constructing final week, after the Board of Trustees voted to rename it. The outside’s iconic lettering now reads “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Middle for the Performing Arts.”
The identify change has prompted outcry from Democratic lawmakers. Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Middle Board, filed a lawsuit within the U.S. District Courtroom for the District of Columbia on Monday. Beatty argues altering the identify of the memorial that’s in honor of President John F. Kennedy requires an act of Congress. She’s asking the court docket to declare the board’s vote null and void.
In response to a Kennedy Middle on-line biography, Redd has been concerned with The Smithsonian for greater than 20 years, serving as artist-in residence at The Smithsonian Jazz Café from 2004-2008. The Kennedy Middle is a part of the Smithsonian Establishment.
“Artwork is a shared cultural expertise meant to unite, not exclude,” stated the assertion from Daravi. “The Trump Kennedy Middle is a real bipartisan establishment that welcomes artists and patrons from all backgrounds—nice artwork transcends politics, and America’s cultural heart stays dedicated to presenting in style programming that conjures up and resonates with all audiences.”
The Kennedy Middle says it would file the lawsuit in opposition to Redd after the vacations.
