WASHINGTON — The President of the Kennedy Center on Friday furiously criticized the musician's sudden decision. cancel Christmas Eve performance on site after the White House announced that President Donald Trump name will be added to the object.
“Your decision to pull out at the last minute—clearly in response to the Center's recent renaming, which honors President Trump's extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure—is classic intolerance and comes at great cost to a nonprofit arts organization,” Center President Richard Grenell wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd shared with The Associated Press.
In the letter, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages “for this political stunt.”
Redd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A drummer and vibraphonist, Redd has led the Kennedy Center's Jazz Jams since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts. In an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Redd said he pulled out of the concert after the renaming.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then a few hours later on the building, I decided to cancel our concert,” Redd said.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and the following year Congress passed legislation naming the center a living monument to him.
According to the White House, the board selected by Trump approved renamingwhich, according to scientists, violates the law. Kennedy's niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump's name from the building once he leaves office, and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes must be approved by Congress.
The law expressly prohibits The board of trustees is prohibited from turning the center into a memorial to anyone else and from putting another person's name on the facade of the building.
___
Associated Press writer Hillel Italia in New York contributed to this report.
