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President kennedy center criticize a musician harshly Christmas Eve show canceled after White House Announce Donald Trumpname will be added to the venue.
Richard GrenellThe center’s president sent a letter to musician Chuck Redd condemning the decision.
“Your last-minute decision to withdraw — explicitly in response to the center’s recent name change, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and costly for a nonprofit arts institution,” he wrote.
Grenell further stated in the letter that he would seek $1 million in damages and called the cancellation a “political stunt.”
Redd has not yet responded to a request for comment.
A drummer and vibraphone player, Redd has hosted the Kennedy Center’s holiday “Jazz Jams” since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts.
Rader said in an email Wednesday that he withdrew from the concert after the name change.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then a few hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Reade said.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center his living memorial.
According to the White House, Trump’s handpicked board approved the name change, a move that academics say violated the law.
Kennedy’s niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to have Trump’s name removed from the building once he leaves office, and former House historian Ray Smoak is among those who say any changes must be approved by Congress.
The law specifically prohibits the board from turning the center into a memorial to anyone or from etching someone else’s name on the exterior of the building.