The newly-named Trump-Kennedy Center is not letting a performer off the hook for bailing on a concert over politics.
In a letter, the president of the Trump-Kennedy Center, Ric Grenell, tells the jazz musician who pulled out of a Christmas concert at the last minute over the center’s “Trump” name-change that it will seek $1 million in damages for the abrupt cancellation.
“Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation has cost us considerably,” Grenell said in a letter to musician Chuck Redd. “This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt.”
“This institution remains dedicated to excellence and accessibility for generations to come, and we will not yield to the pressure tactics being directed at us from political performers on our stages,” Grenell said. “True artists perform for everyone regardless of the political affiliation of audience members.”
Redd was scheduled to host the “Christmas Eve Jazz Jam” on December 24 — a show he’s performed annually since 2006. He pulled out days before the performance, citing Trump’s name addition to the iconic center. He has admitted that he cancelled the concert because the center’s board voted to change the name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
“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.
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Roma Daravi, the top spokeswoman for the center, slammed Redd for his “selfish” and “intolerant” decision to pull out of the performance.
“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,” Daravi told The Daily Wire.
“Art is a shared cultural experience meant to unite, not exclude,” Daravi said. “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.”
Grenell said in his letter to Redd that the renaming reflected Trump’s “extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure,” adding, “Trump’s decisive intervention that rescued this historic building from almost certain destruction.” Notably, as highlighted by The Daily Wire, the center broke the all-time attendance record soon after Trump took over the center, despite criticism from the Left. Its leadership also says it inherited a center in dire financial situation.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Center Is $40 Million In Debt, Will Make Major Cuts
Grenell similarly said Redd’s abrupt cancelation “is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution.”
“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.
The president of the center also took a jab at Redd’s apparent declining attendance over the years.
“[I]t is worth noting that attendance for your Jazz Jam had been lagging considerably behind our other Christmas and holiday offerings, which have drawn strong crowds and enthusiastic response,” he wrote.
“The contrast between the public’s lack of interest in your show with the success we are experiencing under our new chairman is drastic,” Grenell continued. “Our innovative KC Speakeasy—an intimate rooftop after-hours venue featuring live jazz—has consistently sold out, attracting diverse audiences and revitalizing the genre in exciting ways. 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.”
Related: Kennedy Center Breaks All-Time Attendance Record After Lib Meltdown Over Trump
