❓WHAT HAPPENED: Several performers canceled their shows at the Trump-Kennedy Center following its renaming, citing political reasons. But facts point to humiliatingly low public interest in leftist artists.
👤WHO’S INVOLVED: Performers including The Cookers, Kristy Lee, Chuck Redd, and Doug Varone and Dancers.
📍WHEN & WHERE: December 2025 at the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far-left leadership where ideology was prioritized over talent and finances.” – Richard Grenell
🎯IMPACT: Cancellations have had minimal impact as the performers involved had low ticket sales and niche followings.
Several small-time performers booked by the previous, left-wing Kennedy Center management this week canceled their appearances at the Trump-Kennedy Center, citing political motivations following the venue’s renaming. The center, formerly known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, was renamed after a unanimous vote by the board of trustees, prompting a handful of ostensibly ideologically-motivated “cancellations.”
However, performers such as The Cookers, Kristy Lee, Chuck Redd, and Doug Varone and Dancers appear to have withdrawn from scheduled shows due to almost no public interest in their work.
The Daily Mail reported Tuesday that The Cookers, who were set to play in the Terrace Theater, had only sold 60 tickets out of 500 seats available. Chuck Redd, set to play the Millennium Stage at the Trump-Kennedy Center, shifted just 63 free tickets, of a potential 200.
Richard Grenell, the center’s president, attributed the cancellations to political motives, stating, “The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far-left leadership, where ideology was prioritized over talent and finances. Their last-minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone—even those they disagree with politically. They only want to perform for people who believe like them.”
Previous Kennedy Center management had often used the venue to line the pockets of their ideological bedfellows, including through performances with almost no demand, as well as residencies for artists who otherwise commanded no demand from the general public, including the likes of Ben Folds (of the Ben Folds Five) and Jason Moran, both of whom were subsidized by previous Kennedy Center management.