The Kennedy Center says it will seek $1 million in damages from jazz musician Chuck Redd after he canceled a Christmas Eve show following the center's renaming to include President Trump. Redd, a longtime holiday host at the venue, said he withdrew when he saw the name change on the website and building. The renaming has drawn criticism from the Kennedy family and led other artists to pull performances, while center officials argue cancellations politicize the arts.
Kennedy Center Seeks $1M After Jazz Host Chuck Redd Cancels Christmas Eve Show Over 'Trump' Renaming
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell unleashed on Senate Democrats for allegations over his leadership of the cultural center and a probe of its finances.
The president of the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell, has announced the institution will seek $1 million in damages from veteran jazz musician Chuck Redd after Redd abruptly canceled a Christmas Eve performance. The cancellation followed the board's Dec. 18 decision to add President Donald Trump's name to the venue, which the board now officially refers to as the "Trump-Kennedy Center."
Redd, who has hosted holiday Jazz Jams at the Kennedy Center since 2006, told The Associated Press he canceled after seeing the name change appear on the center's website and later on the building itself. In response, Grenell said the last-minute withdrawal explicitly tied to the renaming was a "political stunt" that caused financial harm to the nonprofit.
Workers on a forklift stand near the letters "The Donald" above the signage on the Kennedy Center on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington.
Richard Grenell: "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."
Kennedy Center vice president of public relations Roma Daravi told Fox News Digital that canceling a scheduled performance over political differences "isn’t courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people." She emphasized the center's position that art should be "a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude."
The renaming move drew swift criticism from members of the Kennedy family. Maria Shriver, a niece of President John F. Kennedy, called the decision "beyond comprehension," arguing that adding another name undermines JFK's legacy at the institution bearing his name.
New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington.
Redd's cancellation is part of a wider pattern of artists withdrawing performances since President Trump's return to office. Among the cited examples is Lin-Manuel Miranda, who canceled a planned production of Hamilton at the center.
Last week, workers affixed President Trump's name to the building's exterior, and the Kennedy Center updated its website header to read "The Trump Kennedy Center," intensifying debate about the role of politics in cultural institutions and whether such renamings change an institution's mission.
Both Fox News Digital and The Associated Press reported on the dispute; Fox News Digital obtained Grenell's letter to Redd. The developments have prompted public discussion about artists' obligations, nonprofit damages claims, and the intersection of politics and the performing arts.
