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A veteran jazz ensemble and a New York dance company have canceled events at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, intensifying the fallout at one of the nation’s pre-eminent arts centers after it was renamed to include President Trump. The center had previously promoted two New Year’s Eve performances by the Cookers as an “all-star jazz septet that will ignite the Terrace Theater stage with fire and soul.” But those performances, like an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert hosted by Chuck Redd, are now canceled. The Cookers did not give a reason for the decision in a...

Rosie O’Donnell’s long-running feud with President Donald Trump flared up again after the Kennedy Center board voted to rename the iconic venue "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." In a TikTok video shared with her 2.9 million followers, the comedian and former talk show host delivered a blistering rant from Ireland, where she now lives, unveiling a new nickname for Trump. O’Donnell titled her video "Saturday Night Ramble," opening with reflections on her Christmas celebrations. The monologue quickly pivoted to the subject of Trump as she refused to even say his...

The president of the Kennedy Center sharply criticized a musician Friday for canceling a Christmas Eve performance at the venue after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the building. Richard Grenell, the center’s president, accused musician Chuck Redd of political intolerance in a letter responding to the sudden withdrawal, which Grenell said came just days before the scheduled concert. The letter, shared with The Associated Press, said the cancellation was explicitly tied to the recent renaming of the facility, which Grenell described as honoring Trump’s efforts to preserve the arts institution.

The Kennedy Center’s free Christmas Eve Jazz Jam did not take place in 2025 for the first time in more than two decades. The long-standing holiday tradition was canceled after the board of trustees voted to rename the venue the “Trump Kennedy Center,” adding President Donald Trump’s name alongside John F. Kennedy’s. Jazz drummer and vibraphonist Chuck Redd, who had hosted the concert since 2006, canceled the performance after seeing the name change appear on the Kennedy Center website and then on the building itself. The decision was announced only days before Christmas, with no replacement programming and no detailed...

A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition dating back more than 20 years, has been canceled. The show’s host, musician Chuck Redd, says that he called off the performance in the wake of the White House announcing last week that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility. As of last Friday, the building’s facade reads The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. According to the White House, the president’s handpicked board approved the decision, which scholars have said violates the law. Trump had...

House Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty sued President Donald Trump on Monday -- hoping to force the removal of his name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The lawsuit from the congresswoman, who serves an ex-officio member of the board, argues that the board’s vote to rename the building was illegal because an act of Congress is required for such an action. "This is a flagrant violation of the rule of law, and it flies in the face of our constitutional order. Congress intended the Center to be a living memorial to President Kennedy -- and a...

Cheap Trick has issued a statement in response to criticism they received for performing at last week's Kennedy Center Honors in support of Kiss. The Rockford, Illinois-based rockers paid tribute to their longtime musical compatriots and 2025 Kennedy Center honorees, covering the face-painted band's signature hit "Rock and Roll All Nite" at the Dec. 7 ceremony. Surviving classic-era Kiss members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss accepted the honors alongside fellow honorees George Strait, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor and Sylvester Stallone. What Did Cheap Trick Say About Performing at the Kennedy Center Honors? On Wednesday, Cheap Trick issued a...

The Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees voted to rename the performing arts institution the Trump-Kennedy Center, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was established by Congress as the national center for performing arts and a living memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy and opened its doors in 1971. It recognizes achievements in music, theater and dance each year with its honors ceremony.

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, will be renamed the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. The prestigious Washington, D.C., cultural center’s board of trustees, who were appointed by President Donald Trump in February, “have just voted unanimously” on the name change, Leavitt said in an X post. They did so “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building,” Leavitt said. “Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be...

Rocky thinks Trump is a really great guy. From the Kennedy Center.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is once again making headlines as he delivered a heartfelt message from the stage of the Kennedy Center during a NewsNation town hall on Wednesday evening. VIDEO AT LINK...................... Fetterman’s words could not have come at a better time. Just over a month ago, the world watched in horror as Charlie Kirk was brutally murdered in broad daylight. Just a year earlier, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump had two assassination attempts on his life. And so, as rising political tensions increasingly spill into violence, Fetterman did something few in Washington have even attempted — he tried to...

John Fetterman brings the Kennedy Center to complete silence as he delivers this emotional message on stage: “I know and I love people who voted for President Trump. They are NOT fascists, they’re NOT Nazis, they’re NOT trying to destroy the Constitution.” “I REFUSE to call people Nazis or fascists. I would never compare anybody — anybody to Hitler.” “Like Charlie Kirk, all I could say is let people grieve — give people the space. I’m not going to use that terrible thing and that assassination to make my argument and try to put out my views.” “It’s like, my...

Singer Gloria Gaynor‘s recent financial support for Republican politicians seemingly made her the perfect candidate for the upcoming Kennedy Center Honors hosted by President Donald Trump. According to Federal Election Commission records, the Grammy winner known for the disco anthem “I Will Survive” donated nearly $22,000 to right-wing politicians and groups from August 2023 to June of this year. The records show Gaynor — under her birth name Gloria Fowles — donated hundreds or thousands of dollars to the campaigns for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley,...

The actor cited "scheduling conflicts" in his refusal, according to sources. Tom Cruise has never had any issues jumping out of planes or riding motorcycles off cliffs, but boring old “scheduling conflicts” are apparently something even he can’t conquer. According to The Washington Post, Cruise was offered one of the Kennedy Center Honors that Donald Trump announced yesterday, but declined due to said scheduling conflicts. Former and current Kennedy Center employees speaking to the outlet did not disclose any specifics on those scheduling conflicts or any other reasons why Cruise might have declined. Considering the man could likely skydive in...

The time for restraint will be after the course correction.I haven’t really followed the controversies over what’s going on at the Smithsonian or Kennedy Center, so I don’t pretend to be an authority on either. If you know less than I do, here’s a quick update on the Smithsonian…The Trump administration is cracking down on the Smithsonian Institution ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebration next year, requiring specific national museums and affiliated exhibits to “reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story.”In a letter penned to Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, Trump administration officials laid...

Kiss have been selected to receive the Kennedy Center Honors, and will be presented the award by President Donald Trump, who will host the ceremony on Dec. 8. "We'll be honoring one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Kiss," Trump said while announcing this year's class of honorees - which also includes George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford and Gloria Gaynor. The Kennedy Center honors are designed to reward individuals who have made significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts. After unveiling a photo of Kiss at the announcement ceremony, the President praised all four original...

Several drag queens protested and booed President Donald Trump as he attended a performance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. The president’s visit marked his first since the inauguration. Video captured the moment several drag queens stood up in the audience as he appeared: The president has always hailed Les Misérables as his favorite musical. As Consequence recently reported, half the play’s cast decided to boycott the performance due to the president’s visit. Several cast members of Les Misérables will not be performing “One Day More” at their Kennedy Center concert next month — instead, they’ll be...

The Kennedy Center began the month of June by debuting the Angel Studios hit film “The King of Kings,” an animated movie that goes through the life of Jesus. It comes after a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights ahead the World Pride festival in Washington, D.C. were canceled. The Center held two showings of the film on June 1 as part of its effort to revamp its family-focused programming to include more faith-based content. Both shows were a “huge success” and the event’s prayer wall was “completely full,” a spokesperson for The Kennedy Center told Breitbart News. “Both...

CNN is taking credit for prompting the firing of The Western Journal founder and former owner Floyd Brown, who only a month ago had taken a senior position at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The piece by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski describes Brown as a “far-right activist” who is a professing Christian and who has made statements in the past critical of the homosexual lifestyle and same-sex marriage. ... In February, President Donald Trump announced that he was naming Ric Grenell as interim director of the Kennedy Center. The president wrote on social media, “Ric shares my Vision for...