More performances at Kennedy Center canceled amid controversy over Trump name change
WASHINGTON, DC: More performers have dropped out of shows at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, all because Donald Trump decided to put his name on the place.
The cancellations come after the board voted to change the name of the building to the Trump-Kennedy Center, adding President Donald Trump's name to the building.
The Cookers, a jazz septet, canceled two performances set for New Year's Eve, and Doug Varone and Dancers of New York canceled their April performances.
Jazz ensemble cancels New Year’s Eve performances
The Cookers, a seasoned jazz group, pulled out of their New Year’s Eve shows at the Kennedy Center on Monday.
The band explained their decision in a statement. They said, “With deep regret, we must share that we are unable to perform as planned on New Year’s Eve.”
“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” they continued.
The group added, “We are not turning away from our audience, and do want to make sure that when we do return to the bandstand, the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it.”
The Cookers didn’t come right out and blame the name change, but band members told The New York Times the Trump rebranding had ‘evidently’ played a role in their decision.
It’s not just them. The dance company Doug Varone and Dancers pulled out of two shows they had lined up for April, and folk singer Kristy Lee dropped her January 14 performance.
"It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating," Varone told the Times, noting the company stands to lose $40,000 by canceling.
Backlash follows earlier cancellations and protests
This new round of cancelations started in late December.
That’s when jazz musician Chuck Redd called off his 'Christmas Eve Jazz Concert', a tradition he’d kept alive for almost twenty years.
For 20 years there has been a Christmas Eve Jazz Concert at the Kennedy Center. This year it was cancelled. After seeing Trump's named added to the building, the organizer, drummer Chuck Redd, cancelled the event. pic.twitter.com/a6cApXAj33
— Save America from the GOP (@rojawi) December 25, 2025
Redd said he made that decision after the center’s name change appeared on its website and the building’s signage.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, a Trump ally, dismissed the protests, “Boycotting the arts to show you support the arts is a form of derangement syndrome,” and for months has been complaining that artists’ decisions to pull out amounted to ‘intolerance’ of Republicans.
The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 30, 2025
Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political…
The Kennedy Center is even suing jazz musician Chuck Redd for $1 million for cancelling a Christmas Eve show.
Folk singer Kristy Lee, who recently canceled a January performance, said in a social media post that while the decision to do so was financially tough, 'losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck.'
