Kennedy Center president claims ‘legacy media’ is encouraging artists to boycott performances over Trump name change
Kennedy Center boss claims media is fueling artist boycotts
- Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell has alleged, without evidence, that media outlets like CNN and The Washington Post are encouraging artists to boycott the institution.
- Grenell also claimed The New York Times is celebrating these cancellations, which are in protest of the president's controversial attempt to rename the center.
- Jazz supergroup The Cookers and the Doug Varone and Dancers troupe are among several artists who have cancelled performances, citing concerns over the proposed Trump-Kennedy Center name.
- Following drummer Chuck Redd's cancellation of a Christmas Eve concert, the Kennedy Center head reportedly demanded $1 million from him, calling the move a “political stunt.”
- The dispute arose after Donald Trump installed new board members who named him chairman and then voted to rename the center, a decision some observers consider illegal. Since Trump took over, ticket sales and TV viewership for Kennedy Center events have fallen.