A jazz musician who withdrew from hosting a Christmas Eve concert at the Trump–Kennedy Center is facing a potential $1 million lawsuit over what venue officials described as a politically motivated decision, according to the center’s leadership.
The annual Christmas Eve Jazz Jam was canceled after drummer and vibraphone player Chuck Redd announced he would no longer participate, citing objections to President Donald Trump’s name being added to the performing arts venue, the New York Post reported.
Richard Grenell, president of the Trump–Kennedy Center, said in a letter to Redd—obtained by The New York Post—that the institution intends to pursue damages related to the cancellation. In the letter, Grenell stated that Redd’s withdrawal constituted a breach of his hosting obligations and characterized the decision as being made for “partisan political reasons.”
“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.
“Regrettably, your action surrenders to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center,” he added.
Grenell went on to say that attendance for the Jazz Jam, which Redd has hosted for a number of years, had been “lagging considerably behind our other Christmas and holiday offerings.”
“The contrast between the public’s lack of interest in your show with the success we are experiencing under our new chairman is drastic,” the Trump administration official added.
“The most avant-garde and well-regarded performers in your genre will still perform regularly, and unlike you, they’ll do it to sold out crowds regardless of their political leanings,” Grenell said, per The Post.
The Trump-Kennedy Center president noted further that Redd’s “dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support” combined with his last-minute cancellation “has cost us considerably.”
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.”
“This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt,” Grenell wrote.
On December 18, the board of trustees for the performing arts venue announced it had unanimously voted to add Trump’s name to the building, which caused an uproar among the president’s critics.
“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 told the Associated Press in a statement on Wednesday.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton,” along with other artists, previously announced that they would cease running musical productions, concerts, or events at the venue. Their decisions were made in response to Trump’s changes to the center’s board of directors, which included naming himself chairman, The Post noted.
“Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled — they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people,” Trump-Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi told The Post.
“Art is a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude,” she noted further. “The Trump Kennedy Center is a true bipartisan institution that welcomes artists and patrons from all backgrounds — great art transcends politics, and America’s cultural center remains committed to presenting popular programming that inspires and resonates with all audiences.”
