| | | Kennedy Center exodus: The 11 acts, creators pulling out amid Trump takeover
Dec 31, 2025
President Trump's takeover this year of the Kennedy Center — which was renamed to include Trump earlier this month — is continuing to trigger cancellations from scheduled acts.
The big picture:
At least three sets of performers have pulled out in the wake of the renaming, joining at least eight others who left Kennedy Center roles or canceled appearances following Trump's February election as board chairman.
Driving the news:
The Cookers, a jazz ensemble, as well as Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company, both announced that they were canceling shows this week.
What they're saying:
The Cookers, who were scheduled for two New Year's Eve performances, did not give a reason for the decision, saying in a statement on Monday that "Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice."
Billy Hart, the band's drummer, told The New York Times, however, that the center's name change had "evidently" played a role.
Doug Varone and Dancers announced in an Instagram post on Monday that it was canceling its performances, saying that it "totally disagreed with the takeover by the Trump Administration at the Kennedy Center."
The Cookers and Varone did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The other side:
Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell said on X on Monday that "the artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership."
"Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs," Grenell wrote.
"Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome," he wrote, echoing a frequent, reflexive defense of Trump's.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately confirm the number of performers who have canceled performances this year.
What we're watching:
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Trump administration from renaming the center.
Here are the acts that have withdrawn from Kennedy Center obligations this year:
The Cookers
Billy Harper, the Cookers' saxophone player, said on Facebook that he "would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture."
He added that Trump and the board represent "a mentality and practices I always stood against."
"And still do, today more than ever."
Doug Varone and Dancers
"With the latest act of Donald J. Trump renaming the Center after himself, we can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution," Doug Varone and Dancers said in their Instagram post.
Varone told the Times that his company was losing $40,000 by dropping out, writing in an email that the decision "is financially devastating but morally exhilarating."
Chuck Redd
Citing the name change, jazz drummer Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve concert, which Grenell threatened to sue over.
Context: Redd has hosted holiday "Jazz Jams" at the center since 2006.
Grenell told the AP that Redd's decision to "withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center's recent renaming" is "classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution."
Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages "for this political stunt."
Issa Rae
Issa Rae announced in February on Instagram that she was canceling and refunding tickets for "An Evening With Issa Rae."
The "Insecure" creator cited "an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums."
Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes resigned as treasurer of the center's board in February.
Rhimes, the TV juggernaut behind "Grey's Anatomy" and "Bridgerton" posted a quote from John F. Kennedy on Instagram following her departure: "If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."
Hamilton
"Hamilton" in March canceled plans to perform in the center's 250th anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence.
"We're not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center," the show's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, said earlier this year.
Zoom in: Grenell at the time called the cancellation "a publicity stunt that will backfire" in a post on X.
He said that Miranda and lead producer Jeffrey Seller "don't want Republicans going to their shows."
Renée Fleming
Opera singer Renée Fleming stepped down as an artistic adviser to the Kennedy Center in February.
In a statement on Facebook, she did not mention Trump but wrote that "out of respect" to ousted leadership, "I think it right to depart as well."
Ben Folds
"Given developments," singer and composer Ben Folds in February resigned as advisor to the Kennedy Center's National Symphony Orchestra.
"Not for me," he wrote on Instagram.
Rhiannon Giddens
Grammy-winning singer and composer Rhiannon Giddens in February canceled her upcoming appearance.
She wrote on Instagram at the time that her May show had been booked "long before the current administration decided to take over this previously bipartisan institution."
Low Cut Connie
Rock band Low Cut Connie in February canceled its scheduled performance as part of the center's "Social Impact" series.
"My extended Low Cut Connie community includes black, white, gay, straight, transgender, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, and immigrant individuals - all of whom are wonderful upstanding Americans," Adam Weiner, the band's frontman, said on Facebook.
"Many of these folks will be directly negatively affected by this Administration's policies and messaging."
Kristy Lee
Country singer Kristy Lee on Facebook this month announced the cancellation of her January shows.
Lee did not mention Trump specifically, but alluded to Grenell's threats a week later on Instagram.
"The legal threat that's being talked about from the Kennedy Center isn't really about contracts or damages, it's about control," she said. |
|
