D-List artists throw tantrums over Trump-Kennedy Center rename as their sagging ticket sales are revealed
Some relatively unknown performing artists who had the honor of playing in the capital's most prestigious venue have canceled their shows. It's because they dislike the American president.In reaction to the abrupt renaming of the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, several performers have scrapped plans to appear at the rebranded venue.Though there are legitimate questions about whether the name change needs congressional approval, the knee-jerk reaction from small-time performers has been spectacular. So has the ensuing media coverage. Headlines have blared about the rebellion. 'The Show Won't Go On at the Kennedy Center,' an article from The Atlantic, a left-leaning magazine, boldly proclaims. But, here in reality, the show will go on, because practically every single artist who has canceled their show at the Trump-Kennedy Center has an extremely small following.The Cookers, Kristy Lee and Chuck Redd have all canceled their shows. But unless you're a diehard fan of jazz or folk music, you'd probably need to Google who they are. Workers adjust the lettering outside the John F Kennedy Memorial Center in Washington, DC, on December 19 after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename it Demonstrators protest outside the newly renamed The Donald J Trump and The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on December 20 Chuck Redd, a jazz musician, canceled his Christmas Eve show at the last minuteCombined, the performers have just over 15,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Meanwhile, Miranda Lambert, who just performed at the Kennedy Center Honors this month, boasts 5.5 million monthly listeners. Doug Varone and Dancers, a niche dance troupe, has also canceled its concert.'Yes, we did cancel because of the name change,' Varone told the Daily Mail in a statement. Many outlets are reporting that the freshly minted Trump-Kennedy Center is on its deathbed because of the name change. But leadership there says the cancellations are just a politically-motivated speed bump. 'The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership where ideology was prioritized over talent and finances,' Richard Grenell, The Trump-Kennedy Center's president, told the Daily Mail. 'Their last-minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone - even those they disagree with politically. They only want to perform for people who believe like them.'Notably, the performers who canceled were not booked to play in any of the venue's main theaters. And their ticket sales and guest registrations were dismal, according to an insider. The Cookers were set to play in the Terrace Theater, which holds 500 people. But they had only sold 60 tickets, the insider revealed. The new facade of the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington, DC Trump has attended events at the center this year, including a performance of Les Misérables Chuck Redd, who was set to play on the Millennium Stage, which seats around 200 people and is free of charge, only had 63 people register for his show. Redd's last-minute cancellation of his Christmas Eve show even prompted Grenell to threaten legal action. '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,' the center's boss wrote to the jazz musician. Not all the artists have officially come out and said that the name change inspired their cancellations, but reading between the lines makes it seem that the scheduling changes were at least, in part, politically motivated, as Grenell told the Daily Mail. 'When American history starts getting treated like something you can ban, erase, rename, or rebrand for somebody else's ego, I can't stand on that stage and sleep right at night,' Lee posted on social media. A representative for Lee told the Daily Mail in a statement: 'Kristy Lee’s decision to withdraw from her Kennedy Center performance had nothing to do with ticket sales.' Congress passed a law in 1964 to rename the venue after John F Kennedy and dedicate it as a 'living memorial' to him, the year after he died. Critics of the recent renaming argue that Congress must approve any name change, and the building cannot feature another person's name. Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio has sued the Trump administration over the move, arguing that the addition of his name to the building is a 'flagrant violation' of the law. The change was approved by the center's current board of trustees, which is essentially a list of the President's closest allies. 'With the latest act of Donald J Trump renaming the center after himself, we can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution,' Doug Varone and Dancers posted on social media. Though many on social media were far less critical of the renaming and cancellations.'You can cancel your show, but all you've accomplished is cancelling yourself,' one Trump supporter wrote on X. 'The disappointment falls on you, not the Trump-Kennedy Center or the President. You're just a performer who can easily be replaced.' Redd and the Cookers did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
