Kennedy Center president claims 'legacy media' urging artists to cancel shows over Trump name change

WASHINGTON, DC: The president of the Kennedy Center has accused major ‘legacy media’ outlets of encouraging artists to boycott performances at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center.

He claimed without evidence that the New York Times and other news organisations are amplifying cancellations linked to the controversy.

Richard Grenell, appointed as president of the arts institution by President Donald Trump, took to X to allege that outlets including CNN and The Washington Post were actively prompting artists to withdraw in protest.

Grenell wrote that he had been “informed by some booked artists that they are receiving emails from [CNN] and [The Washington Post] encouraging them to boycott the Trump Kennedy Center.”

He added in a separate post that The New York Times was “celebrating people boycotting the Arts,” though he did not produce evidence to support the assertion.

The comments come amid a growing list of performance cancellations at the centre following its controversial renaming earlier this month. 

Grenell accuses major media of activism amid cancellations

In his posts on X, Grenell framed legacy news organisations as “left wing activists” who are openly encouraging performers to back out of scheduled shows.

He claimed that the so-called push to cancel was not organic but driven by outside media influence, and that the trend was being widely celebrated rather than examined critically.

Critics were quick to push back on Grenell’s claims, noting that if such direct encouragement emails existed, they would represent a serious breach of journalistic neutrality.

Former Republican congressman and CNN commentator Adam Kinzinger echoed that view in his own post on X, writing: "This should be easy enough to prove."

The accusations have drawn attention because they come alongside an ongoing wave of cancellations from performers citing discomfort with the Trump-linked direction of the Kennedy Center and its new identity as a venue connected to the sitting president.

Performance cancellations follow renaming dispute

The boycott trend at the arts institution began after the board, composed largely of Trump allies appointed earlier this year, voted to rename the building the “Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

That decision drew criticism from Democratic leaders and members of the Kennedy family alike, with some observers calling the move illegal because a presidential memorial’s name change typically requires Congressional approval.

Artists have cited the renaming as a motivating factor in their decisions to cancel shows.

Jazz supergroup 'The Cookers' said they would not perform their scheduled New Year’s Eve concerts, writing that “Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice.”

Saxophonist Billy Harper added that he “would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African-American music and culture.”

Other groups, including 'Doug Varone' and 'Dancers', announced they would not carry out planned performances in the spring, saying they could no longer, in good conscience, ask audiences to enter “this once great institution” under its new name.