Chuck Redd, who has hosted the annual Jazz Jam for nearly 20 years, canceled his appearance in the wake of the venue’s controversial renaming.

Kennedy Center president demands $1 million from artist who pulled out of Christmas Eve concert amid Trump changes

Chuck Redd, who has hosted the annual Jazz Jam for nearly 20 years, canceled his appearance in the wake of the venue's controversial renaming.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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December 28, 2025 12:25 p.m. ET

Richard Grenell, Donald J. Trump, and Chuck Redd. Credit:

Paul Morigi/Getty; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; The Washington Times/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell is demanding $1 million in damages from the artist who canceled his Christmas Eve performance days after Donald Trump's name was added to the facility.

In a letter to jazz musician Chuck Redd, which was shared with **, Grenell sharply criticizes the artist and praises Trump for his leadership as the center's chairman — a role that the president was elected into by the board that he handpicked.

"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.

Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player, has presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006. This year, he made waves by abruptly pulling the plug on the Wednesday performance after Trump's name was added to the iconic cultural institution originally named to memorialize President John F. Kennedy.

Chuck Redd performs in 2019 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Wire

In his letter, Grenell additionally criticized Redd for his alleged lack of ticket sales and praised President Trump for rescuing the center "from almost certain destruction." The venue president then vowed to sue Redd over his actions, writing, "Your dismal ticket sales and lack of donor support, combined with your last-minute cancellation, has cost us considerably. This is your official notice that we will seek $1 million in damages from you for this political stunt."

Grenell concluded, "This institution remains dedicated to excellence and accessibility for generations to come, and we will not yield to the pressure tactics being directed at us from political performers on our stages. True artists perform for everyone regardless of the political affiliation of audience members."

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Days before the annual Christmas jazz concert was set to take place at the Washington, D.C., venue, Redd not only called off his performance, but made it clear that his cancellation was in direct response to the venue's rebrand.

"When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told the Associated Press last week,

In a separate email to CNN, Redd doubled down on the decision, adding, "I’ve been performing at the Kennedy Center since the beginning of my career. I was saddened to see this name change."

The new sign outside of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts now includes "The Donald J. Trump and" as seen on December 19 in Washington, DC.

Heather Diehl/Getty

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Following President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Last week, "The Donald J. Trump and" was added above John F. Kennedy's name on the exterior of the Kennedy Center, prompting widespread backlash. Among those who took issue with the move was Democratic Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who introduced a lawsuit against the board of trustees over the name change, arguing that law prohibits the board from turning the center into a memorial for anyone other than Kennedy.

In a statement shared with EW, Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, said in part, "Any artist canceling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn’t courageous or principled — they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people."**

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