Musician To Suffer Consequences After Cancelling Kennedy Center Show Over Trump

The president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Richard Grenell, warned there would be “consequences” for artists who cancel performances in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the Washington institution. Grenell made the remarks in a post on X, Mediaite reported.

Fox News Digital reported that jazz musician Chuck Redd abruptly canceled a scheduled Christmas Eve performance at the venue. Redd cited opposition to Trump’s name being added above that of assassinated President John F. Kennedy. On Dec. 18, the Kennedy Center board voted unanimously to rename the institution the Trump Kennedy Center.

Redd told the Associated Press he canceled after seeing the name change appear on the Kennedy Center website and later on the building itself.

“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd said.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Grenell accused Redd of staging what he described as a political stunt that harmed the nonprofit arts institution. Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages from the musician.

“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,” Grenell wrote.

Grenell later posted on X that artists would not be allowed to cancel shows without repercussions.

“The left is boycotting the Arts because Trump is supporting the Arts,” Grenell wrote. “But we will not let them cancel shows without consequences. The Arts are for everyone — and the Left is mad about it.”

Redd is not the first artist to withdraw from the Kennedy Center over political disagreements.

Last spring, the cast of Hamilton canceled planned performances at the venue following Trump’s move to take control of the institution, and other artists have since followed.

A Kennedy Center spokesperson told Fox News Digital that artists canceling performances over political differences were failing their public duty.

“Any artist canceling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled,” the spokesperson said.

“They are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people,” the spokesperson added.

Trump received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize this month, marking the first time the global soccer organization has issued the award. The Trump War Room account announced the news on X with a video showing the trophy and wrote that Trump had been honored “for ending nearly nine wars and for his endless pursuit of peace around the globe.”

The video featured Trump with multiple world leaders following a year of foreign policy accomplishments.

Fox News reported the award was presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., during the World Cup final draw.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino personally presented Trump with the trophy, which displayed golden hands holding a soccer ball. Trump was also given a medal, which he placed around his neck immediately after accepting it.

A certificate stated the FIFA Peace Prize is presented annually to an individual who advances peace and unity through leadership and action. Trump noted during the presentation, “This is truly one of the great honors of my life.”

He added that he and Infantino discussed efforts they believed saved “millions and millions of lives.”

Trump also highlighted the wars he said were ended during his presidency and the conflicts he said were prevented.

In March, Trump signed an executive order creating the task force for the World Cup tournament shared by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.