Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell blasted a performer’s decision to cancel an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the Washington, D.C., arts venue.
In a letter first obtained and published by The Associated Press on Friday, Grenell harshly criticized the actions of jazz artist Chuck Redd and praised Trump’s leadership as the center’s president — a position the president’s handpicked board elected him to fill early in his second term after he ousted his predecessor.
“Your last-minute decision to withdraw — in clear response to the center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and costly for a nonprofit arts institution,” Grenell, a longtime Trump confidant, wrote on letterhead bearing the new “Trump Kennedy Center” logo.
Reade told CNN on Wednesday that he canceled the holiday jazz concerts he had hosted for nearly two decades after seeing the board’s move last week to rename the building.
“I’ve been performing at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of my career, and I’m sad to see the name change,” Reade said.
Grenell went on to accuse Redd of causing financial harm for what he called a “political stunt” and said the center would seek $1 million in damages.
CNN has reached out to Reade and the Kennedy Center for comment.
Free “Jazz Jam” performances were canceled after the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ board of directors last week voted to rename the cultural institution in honor of the Democratic former president and Trump.
Within hours of the vote, the center updated its website and the next day installed new signage with Trump’s name on the front of the building.
The move quickly drew the ire of the Kennedy family, lawmakers and history center patrons, including a Democratic congresswoman who filed a lawsuit challenging the board’s authority to rename the facility. Congress designated the facility in 1964 as a monument to the 35th President.
Trump’s overhaul of the center, which precedes the name change, has already raised concerns about lost revenue as artists and audiences flee to other venues. Artists including Issa Rae, Renée Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds have resigned from leadership roles or canceled events at the space. Jeffrey Thaler, the producer of the hit musical “Hamilton,” canceled performances earlier this year.
This holiday season, lagging ticket sales are also affecting one of the center’s most popular events in history, “The Nutcracker.” About 10,000 seats were sold for this year’s seven shows, while shows in 2021 through 2024 will sell about 15,000 seats each, according to internal sales data reviewed by CNN.
Data shows that the Kennedy Center has about five times more tickets for shows this year than in the past four years. This year’s show fell about $500,000 short of its budgeted revenue goal of $1.5 million.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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