{"id":328609,"date":"2025-12-27T13:18:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T18:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/hes-led-the-kennedy-center-christmas-show-since-2006-after-the-trump-renaming-theyre-suing-him-for-1-million"},"modified":"2025-12-27T13:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T18:18:14","slug":"hes-led-the-kennedy-center-christmas-show-since-2006-after-the-trump-renaming-theyre-suing-him-for-1-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/hes-led-the-kennedy-center-christmas-show-since-2006-after-the-trump-renaming-theyre-suing-him-for-1-million","title":{"rendered":"He is Led the Kennedy Middle Christmas Present Since 2006. After the Trump Renaming, They’re Suing Him for $1 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For nearly two decades, Chuck Redd<\/a> spent Christmas Eve the same way: onstage at the Kennedy Center, leading the annual Jazz Jam he\u2019d helmed since 2006.<\/p>\n

This year, he wasn\u2019t there. And now the Kennedy Center wants $1 million for it.<\/p>\n

Redd, a 67-year-old jazz drummer and vibraphone player, pulled out of the performance after the White House announced that President Trump\u2019s name would be added to the building. The renaming became official on December 19. By Christmas Eve, the show was canceled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,\u201d Redd told the Associated Press. \u201cI\u2019ve been performing at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of my career and I was saddened to see this name change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response from Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell \u2014 a Trump appointee who took over after the previous leadership was forced out \u2014 was swift and personal.<\/p>\n

\"artist\"\"Barney
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell presents to President Trump at the Kennedy Center in August 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a letter<\/a> obtained by the Associated Press, Grenell accused Redd of staging a \u201cpolitical stunt\u201d and called his decision \u201cclassic intolerance.\u201d He announced the center would seek $1 million in damages.<\/p>\n

But Grenell didn\u2019t stop there. He mocked Redd\u2019s drawing power, writing: \u201cYour dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation has cost us considerably. This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt.\u201d He added: \u201cThe most avant-garde and well-regarded performers in your genre will still perform regularly, and unlike you, they\u2019ll do it to sold-out crowds regardless of their political leanings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redd\u2019s biography on the Kennedy Center\u2019s own website describes him as an \u201caccomplished performer on both drums and vibraphone\u201d who has shared the stage with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Byrd, and Barney Kessel.<\/p>\n

He is not the first artist to walk away. Issa Rae<\/a> withdrew from the venue earlier this year, telling the Daily Beast it was \u201can infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds.\u201d Others have quietly distanced themselves as well.<\/p>\n

The renaming itself remains legally contested. Congress passed a law in 1964 designating the center as a living memorial to President Kennedy, and legal scholars say any change would require congressional approval. A Democratic lawmaker has filed a lawsuit challenging the move, and Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump\u2019s name from the building once he leaves office.<\/p>\n

None of that stopped the new signage from going up.<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center was built to be neutral ground \u2014 a place where art existed outside politics. Grenell\u2019s letter makes clear that era is over. The question now is whether artists will keep showing up anyway, or whether the stage will empty out one cancellation at a time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For nearly two decades, Chuck Redd spent Christmas Eve the same way: onstage at the Kennedy Center, leading the annual Jazz Jam he\u2019d helmed since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4557],"tags":[2138,5928,5934,5933,1674,5930,5929,5932,762,5931,609],"class_list":["post-328609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marketing","tag-artist","tag-barney-kessel","tag-charlie-byrd","tag-chuck-redd","tag-congress","tag-daniel-torok","tag-dizzy-gillespie","tag-issa-rae","tag-official","tag-personal-web-site","tag-president"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328609"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328611,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328609\/revisions\/328611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}