Kennedy Center President Threatens Suit Over Canceled Christmas Eve Jazz Concert

Back in February, 2025, the U.S. President, less than one month into his second term, purged the bipartisan board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The President appointed Richard Grenell (below), whom he had previously made ambassador to Germany, to be the new president of the Kennedy Center’s board. That board voted in December to rename the Kennedy Center by adding the President’s name to it. Chuck Redd, who has hosted a jazz concert at the Kennedy Center on Christmas Eve for two decades canceled the concert in protest.

Now, as Tim Balk reports in The New York Times, Mr. Grenell has sent a letter to Mr. Balk threatening a lawsuit in which the Kennedy Center would seek $1 million in breach of contract damages for “this political stunt.” To punctuate this bullying tactic, Mr. Grenell accused Mr. Redd of engaging in “sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left.”

Seems like a good breach of contract claim. Of course, it may be that Mr. Redd had no choice but to cancel the concert if the other musicians involved were refusing to perform. And I can imagine that it might have been hard to recruit other jazz musicians who would want to be associated with the re-branded Kennedy Center. However, it also seems like the real sticking point will be damages.

There have been widespread reports that attendance at Kennedy Center events has plummeted this year. In October, Reginald Edward reported in Digital Chew that unsold seats to Kennedy Center events had risen to 43%, up from 7% a year ago. So I’m not sure how Mr. Grenell is going to show $1 million in damages. Moreover, unless, Mr. Redd and the other musicians were volunteering their time, I expect that they would have been paid for their appearances and that, by canceling, they forfeited their expectations of payment. I am, of course, speculating about the other musicians’ attitudes, but if all of the people who would have been on stage agreed to pull out, it may be that the Kennedy Center saved money by not having the concert.

If Mr. Grenell wants to pursue his litigation strategy, the Kennedy Center’s attorneys are going to be very busy. Here’s a list from last week, put together by Consequence.net, of all the artists and groups that have cancelled their programs at the Kennedy Center. To this list we can now add Washington’s National Opera, which according to Adam Nagourney, reporting the The New York Times, announced at the end of last week that it is leaving the Kennedy Center, where it has performed since 1971. The Opera cited declining ticket sales and donations. It hopes to stage its events in new venues. Meanwhile, Mr. Grenell boasted on social media that the Opera’s move would enable the Kennedy Center to bring in other opera companies from around the world. He has since deleted the post.

Imagine any other head of an institution responsible for such a complete destruction of its revenue base doubling down on their failed strategy rather than either reversing course or resigning. Any board member with the slightest awareness of what it means to owe a fiduciary duty to the institution you serve would demand a resignation. Instead there has been, thus far, silence from the board, whose members were chose for their loyalty to a man rather than their loyalty to the institution.