Several artists have withdrawn from upcoming Kennedy Center performances after the venue’s board voted in mid-December 2025 to add President Donald Trump’s name to the institution’s formal title. The decision has drawn protests and political pushback, including arguments that Congress—not the board—must approve any official renaming of the federally chartered memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., after the board approved adding Trump’s name to the performing arts complex’s title, according to accounts from multiple news outlets covering the backlash.
Among the cancellations, the jazz supergroup The Cookers pulled out of its scheduled New Year’s Eve appearances at the venue. In a separate withdrawal, Doug Varone and Dancers canceled an April engagement, criticizing the renaming in a statement and expressing hope the institution would eventually return to a legacy focused on President Kennedy.
The departures add to earlier, widely reported pullbacks tied to the Kennedy Center’s leadership and governance changes in 2025. Actor-producer Issa Rae canceled a planned appearance, and several high-profile artists—including singer Renée Fleming and musician Ben Folds—stepped down from Kennedy Center roles as controversy mounted over the institution’s direction.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell has publicly rejected the notion that cancellations will cripple programming, while also clashing with some artists who withdrew from engagements. Entertainment outlets reported that Grenell demanded substantial damages from jazz musician Chuck Redd after Redd ended a long-running holiday performance at the center.
The controversy has coincided with a sharp drop in television viewership for the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast. Nielsen figures reported by major entertainment-trade and newspaper outlets put the Dec. 23, 2025 telecast at about 3.01 million viewers—an all-time low—down from roughly 4.1 million the prior year (a decline of about 25%). Some preliminary reports cited a steeper decline based on early estimates, but later Nielsen reporting converged on the 3.01 million figure.
The Kennedy Center is federally chartered as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, and the legality of adding Trump’s name has become a central dispute. Lawmakers and legal observers have argued that Congress would need to authorize an official name change. Despite those objections, The Washington Post reported that workers began updating exterior signage shortly after the board vote.
