On Friday, the president of the Kennedy Center strongly condemned a musician’s abrupt decision to… at the venue several days after the White House declared that President Donald Trump’s… to the facility.
“Your last – minute withdrawal, clearly in reaction to the Center’s recent renaming that honors President Trump’s remarkable efforts to preserve this national treasure, is a typical display of intolerance and extremely costly to a non – profit arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a… to musician Chuck Redd, which was shared with The Associated Press.
In the letter, Grenell stated that he would demand $1 million in damages “for this political stunt.”
Redd did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
A drummer and vibraphone player, Redd has been in charge of the holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, taking over from bassist William “Keter” Betts. In an email sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Redd said he pulled out of the concert after the renaming.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then a few hours later on the building itself, I decided to cancel our concert,” Redd said. He also mentioned on Wednesday that the event has been a “very popular holiday tradition” and that he usually included at least one student musician.
“One of the many reasons it was so sad to have to cancel,” he told the AP.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the next year designating the center as a living memorial to him.
Grenell is an ally of Trump. The president appointed him to lead the Kennedy Center after ousting the previous leadership. According to the White House, the board hand – picked by Trump approved the…, which scholars claim violates the law. Kennedy’s niece, Kerry Kennedy, has promised to remove Trump’s name from the building once he leaves office, and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes must be approved by Congress.
… the board of trustees from turning the center into a memorial for anyone else and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.