Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell blasted an artist’s decision to cancel an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert, following the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the Washington, DC arts venue.
In a letter, a copy of which the Kennedy Center shared with CNN, Grenell strongly criticizes the actions of jazz artist Chuck Redd and praises Trump for his leadership as the center’s chairman — a role the president’s select board elected him to early in his second term after firing his predecessor.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment—expressly in response to the Center’s recent makeover, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure—is classic and costly intolerance for a non-profit Arts institution,” Grenell, a longtime Trump confidant, wrote to Redd on letterhead bearing the new “Trump Kennedy Center” logo.
The Associated Press first reported on the letter.
Redd told CNN on Wednesday that he canceled the holiday jazz concert, which he has hosted for nearly two decades, after seeing the board’s move to rename the building last week.
“I have been performing music at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of my career and I was saddened to see this name change,” said Redd.
Grenell continues to blame Redd for the financial fallout related to what he called a “political stunt” and said the center will seek $1 million in damages.
CNN has reached out to Redd for comment on the letter.
Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, echoed Grenell’s sentiment, asserting that Redd “failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people.”
“Art is a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude,” Daravi said in a statement to CNN. “The Trump Kennedy Center is a true bipartisan institution that welcomes artists and patrons of all backgrounds—great art transcends politics, and America’s cultural center remains committed to presenting popular programming that inspires and resonates with all audiences.”
The cancellation of the free “Jazz Jam” show followed a vote by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ board of trustees to rename the cultural institution for both the former Democratic president and Trump last week.
In the hours after the vote, the center updated its website and the next day installed new signs in front of the building bearing Trump’s name.
The move quickly sparked outrage from the Kennedy family, lawmakers and patrons of the historic center, including a lawsuit from one Democratic congresswoman challenging whether the board has the authority to change the name of the facility, which Congress designated in 1964 as a memorial to the 35th president.
Before the renaming, Trump’s overhaul of the center was already raising concerns about lost revenue as both performers and audiences flee to other venues. Artists including Issa Rae, Renée Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds have resigned from their leadership roles or canceled events at the space. And Jeffrey Seller, producer of the hit musical “Hamilton,” canceled the show’s planned run earlier this year.
This holiday season, lagging ticket sales have also impacted “The Nutcracker,” historically one of the center’s most popular events. About 10,000 seats have been sold for this year’s production in seven performances, compared with about 15,000 seats each in performances from 2021 to 2024, according to internal sales data reviewed by CNN.
The data showed that the Kennedy Center did about five times more tickets to the shows this year than in the last four years. And this year’s show fell about half a million dollars short of its budgeted revenue goal of $1.5 million.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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