WASHINGTON (FN) \u2014 The president of the Kennedy Center sharply criticized a longtime performer who canceled an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert after the arts institution added President Donald Trump\u2019s name to the building, calling the withdrawal \u201cclassic intolerance\u201d and financially damaging to the nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter first obtained and shared out by the Associated Press, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell rebuked jazz musician Chuck Redd, who has hosted the holiday concert since 2006, for backing out just days before the event. Redd canceled the performance after the White House announced that Trump\u2019s name would be added to the center\u2019s facade, a change Grenell said honors the president\u2019s \u201cextraordinary efforts to save this national treasure\u201d during his tenure as chairman of the center\u2019s board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour decision to withdraw at the last moment \u2014 explicitly in response to the Center\u2019s recent renaming \u2014 is classic intolerance and very costly to a nonprofit arts institution,\u201d Grenell wrote, adding that he would seek $1 million in damages for what he described as a political stunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Redd, a drummer and vibraphonist, had led the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam for nearly two decades. He has not publicly commented on Grenell\u2019s letter, but previously said he stepped away because he objected to the decision to add Trump\u2019s name to the building, which has historically maintained a nonpartisan identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The renaming, approved by a Trump\u2011appointed board, sparked broader debate among artists and arts advocates. Some performers expressed concern that the move politicized a cultural institution originally dedicated to President John F. Kennedy\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kennedy Center confirmed the concert\u2019s cancellation on Dec. 24, noting that the event had been a holiday tradition for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grenell, a close Trump ally, praised the president\u2019s leadership in his letter and defended the board\u2019s decision, saying the renaming reflects Trump\u2019s role in preserving the center\u2019s financial stability during his administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House has not commented on the dispute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The president of the Kennedy Center sharply criticized a longtime performer who canceled an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert after the arts institution added President Donald Trump\u2019s name to the building, calling the withdrawal \u201cclassic intolerance\u201d and financially damaging to the nonprofit. Do you think the name change was a good idea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25,4,5,18],"tags":[3064,2342,3065,3063,2301],"class_list":["post-25757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-featured","category-international","category-lifestyle","tag-chuck-redd","tag-kennedy-center","tag-musician-chuck-redd","tag-president-richard-grenell","tag-white-house"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-86.png?fit=860%2C572&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25759,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25757\/revisions\/25759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}