Kennedy Center President Grenell threatened musician Chuck Redd with $1 million in damages over Christmas Eve protest cancellation

On December 26, 2025, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell sent musician Chuck Redd — who had performed an annual Christmas Eve concert at the Center since 2006 — a letter threatening to seek $1 million in damages after Redd canceled that year's show in protest of the Center being renamed the "Trump-Kennedy Center" by the Trump-appointed board. Grenell wrote that Redd's cancellation "in response to the Center's recent renaming...is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution," and accused Redd of carrying out a "political stunt." Redd said he canceled after seeing the new name posted on the Center's website and, hours later, on the building itself.

The Kennedy Center is a federally chartered institution whose board and president Trump replaced with allies beginning in February 2025, installing Grenell as president. The board voted unanimously on December 18, 2025 to add Trump's name to the venue, a move Kennedy family members publicly criticized and that an ex officio board member, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), challenged in a lawsuit filed December 22 arguing the board lacked legal authority to rename the federally designated memorial. Several other artists, including the jazz group the Cookers and dance company Doug Varone and Dancers, also withdrew from Kennedy Center performances after the renaming.

Updates

2026-03 — Kennedy Center sued Redd for breach of contract, seeking $1 million [3, 4]

Grenell's threatened damages claim became a formal lawsuit: the Kennedy Center sued Redd for breach of contract, seeking the $1 million Grenell had threatened, arguing his cancellation forced the Center to cancel the concert and caused it reputational and marketing harm.

2026-06 — Court dismissed Kennedy Center's suit under D.C.'s anti-SLAPP law [3, 4]

In June 2026, D.C. Superior Court Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier dismissed the Kennedy Center's breach-of-contract suit against Redd, granting his motion to dismiss under the District's anti-SLAPP statute, which protects public-interest speech.

2026-08-10 — Judge ordered Kennedy Center to pay Redd $252,479.70 in fees [3, 4]

Judge Jones Bosier ordered the Kennedy Center to pay Redd $252,479.70 to cover his attorneys' fees and other legal costs from the dismissed suit, and gave the Center 45 days to pay. A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the institution intended to appeal. Redd's attorney, Lisa Banks, said the Center "tried to silence opposition to its illegal name change by filing a meritless lawsuit."