I Can’t Believe No One Wants to Perform at the Kennedy Center Now That Trump Is Destroying It

It is the biggest bummer of my current life that I got stuck in the universe where Trump is a giant brat baby, Putin sycophant, and wannabe dictator, and not the universe where he was hugged as a child and encouraged to pursue his Broadway dreams. Alas, because he wasn’t hugged as a child—and was likely deeply discouraged from ever performing anything besides fragile masculinity—he is using all the pent-up rage of unrealized ambition to turn the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts into a tacky 1980s Atlantic City casino drowning in fake gold appliqués. And, shocker! No one (outside of the poisoned MAGA bubble) wants to perform there anymore.

On December 18, the Board of the Kennedy Center–whose members were all chosen by Trump–voted to rename the storied performing arts center the Trump Kennedy Center. Less than 24 hours after they all met in Palm Beach, workers added “THE DONALD J. TRUMP AND” above the Kennedy Center’s name. Technically, only Congress can approve a rename, so this is all illegal—but add it to the administration’s list of illegal actions, I guess. The Kennedy family is deeply pissed.

Two more groups have since pulled their upcoming performances because of the renaming: The Cookers, a jazz ensemble scheduled to perform on New Year’s Eve, and Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company that was set to celebrate its 40th anniversary with two performances in April. The Center’s chairman, Richard Grenell—again, hand-selected by Trump—has accused everyone of having Trump Derangment Syndrome.

“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” the Cookers said in a statement. “Some of us have been making this music for many decades, and that history still shapes us.”

“It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating,” Varone told the New York Times in an email, adding that they’ll be losing $40,000. Personally, I’d also rather go broke than perform beneath anything bearing Trump’s name.

On Monday, Grenell called both groups “far-left political activists,” adding that he believes “boycotting the arts to show you support the arts is a form of derangement syndrome.” Obviously, artists protesting the government is the most artist thing to ever happen, but God forbid you ask anyone in MAGA world to read a non-Trump book once in a while.

Immediately after the name change, drum and vibraphone player Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve concert, which he’s hosted every year since 2006. Grenell dismissed it as a “political stunt,” accused Redd of “classic intolerance,” and threatened him with a $1 million lawsuit. Try looking in a mirror and saying those things, Grenell.

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment—explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure—is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Grenell wrote in the letter, which was shared with the Associated Press.

Last week, folk singer Kristy Lee also canceled her free concert on Jan. 14. “I won’t lie to you, canceling shows hurts,” she wrote on Instagram. “This is how I keep the lights on. But losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck.”

Who needs ‘Hamilton’ at the Kennedy Center when you can go watch lara trump perform this chart bottoming song instead???

pic.twitter.com/aTfSZLtvo6

— Covie (@covie_93) December 30, 2025

In February, after Trump got rid of the Center’s board and replaced it with only his supporters, a slew of artists canceled their appearances and events, including Issa Rae, the singer-songwriter Ben Folds, Pulitzer winner Rhiannon Giddens, and the producer of Hamilton, Jeffrey Seller, canceled the show’s run.