Stars pull out of shows and positions at Kennedy Center after Trump takeover
Source: Guardian
Donald Trumps takeover of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has generated outcry from performers and members, with several stars pulling out of engagements or associations.
Trump purged the board of the arts foundation last week, clearing the group of appointees by Joe Biden. Stacked with Trump loyalists, the new board terminated the centers president, Deborah Rutter, and installed Trump as chair. The board then named Richard Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, as interim president.
In response, several stars have disassociated from the center. Issa Rae, creator and star of Insecure, announced on her Instagram story on Thursday that she was cancelling her upcoming one-night-only show at the Kennedy Center. The sold-out show, An Evening with Issa Rae, was scheduled at the venue in March.
-snip-
On Wednesday, the renowned soprano Reneé Fleming said she would step down from her role as artistic adviser to the center. Though her statement did not mention Trump, she praised its ousted chair David M Rubenstein and Rutter, and said: Out of respect, I think it right to depart as well."
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/feb/13/kennedy-center-trump-issa-rae-shonda-rhimes

crim son
(27,529 posts)I applaud those who have decided not to indulge The Convicted Felon's fantasy that he has artistic taste.
Wicked Blue
(7,698 posts)Irish_Dem
(65,586 posts)regnaD kciN
(26,817 posts)BonnieJW
(2,785 posts)A concert with Kid Rock, Toby Keith, Lee Greenwood and The Village People.
Haggard Celine
(17,112 posts)
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(119,973 posts)Donkees
(32,690 posts)RainCaster
(12,284 posts)Stool has so many meanings. All apply.
3catwoman3
(26,331 posts)My late mother was the school nurse at the middle school Renee Fleming attended, and she followed her career with great interest.
bluestarone
(19,123 posts)
hlthe2b
(108,333 posts)Let Lee Greenwood appear every night for the next four years and see who shows up.
Sad as this will hurt the Kennedy Center long after Trump is dust (what a thought...
mtngirl47
(1,140 posts)Snoop Dog, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kanye West
am I forgetting anyone?
Staring Trumps Cabinet with the GOP Congress as dancers.
BonnieJW
(2,785 posts)And i said Toby Keith and meant Ted Nugent. Can you imagine who will comprise the audience? A Kennedy Center with SRO nazis
Linda ladeewolf
(774 posts)😈
Mawspam2
(906 posts)Mossfern
(3,587 posts)
MLWR
(173 posts)Aristus
(69,314 posts)Pole-dancers, banjo players, the entirety of Branson, Missouri's entertainment establishment, Miss Pre-Teen America contests (swimsuit competition only), and Rob Schneider.
OldBaldy1701E
(7,400 posts)(Gods know I have tried to!)
radical noodle
(9,558 posts)Ted Nugent and Kanye (I'll call him "Ye" when I call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America... never)
rampartd
(1,741 posts)pazzyanne
(6,662 posts)
No Kid Rock?
Aristus
(69,314 posts)That's what happens to forgettable performers.
Ocelot II
(123,555 posts)She might threaten to sing, if that's what she calls the disturbing sounds she makes with her face.
quaint
(3,796 posts)humpf
But you get my last heart, anyway.
Javaman
(63,426 posts)Hes going to turn the Kennedy center into Branson Missouri
Onthefly
(693 posts)Wicked Blue
(7,698 posts)and encourage the audiences to throw rotten vegetables at them.
Irish_Dem
(65,586 posts)sheshe2
(90,323 posts)https://www.businessinsider.com/kimberly-guilfoyle-reportedly-offered-lap-dance-trump-campaign-fundraiser-2020-11
Irish_Dem
(65,586 posts)to be the US ambassador. Got her out of the country.
IzzaNuDay
(896 posts)They are somewhat famous in classical music and a Trumper. Weve agreed to disagree on many topics, but common bond is music. Hope they are happy.
Ocelot II
(123,555 posts)If it doesn't turn up on a juke box at a truck stop in Dumbfuckistan they won't have it at Trump's newly-defiled Kennedy Center.
twodogsbarking
(12,961 posts)Well that was, well, disgusting.
Midnight Writer
(23,491 posts)A two-hour monologue covering everything from why Joanie Loves Chachi to why Charles Is In Charge.
Should be fire!
markodochartaigh
(2,426 posts)are reich-wing. Scott Baio, Antonio Sàbato, Eduardo Verástegui, Ricky Schroder, Kirk Cameron.
druidity33
(6,671 posts)Kirk Cameron and Ricky Schroeder were heartthrobs?
markodochartaigh
(2,426 posts)n/t
Raftergirl
(1,641 posts)I expect touring Broadway shows will cancelled, too. Much too woke for that venue now. And its far from Podunk Amerika to go see a show there. Will be a pretty empty place from now on.
Solly Mack
(94,362 posts)FakeNoose
(36,836 posts)
nwliberalkiwi
(388 posts)Right up Donnie's alley!!!
perdita9
(1,220 posts)Popular artists can afford to have standards. They're not going to show up to a venue if it will cause them to compromise on their pricipals.
crud
(921 posts)Sneederbunk
(15,874 posts)Chipper Chat
(10,230 posts)To demand the removal of the Kennedy name. It's coming.
serbbral
(287 posts)I was thinking about this last night. It is really a shame.
TurboDem
(308 posts)Scrivener7
(54,515 posts)vankuria
(947 posts)I really enjoyed watching the Kennedy Center Honors, I can think of so many wonderful performances like Paul McCartney being honored and singing Michelle to Michelle Obama. Now this is just another place hell destroy and make into a MAGA amateur hour with Ted Nugent or some other vile, no talent creep.
I used to really enjoy watching the Kennedy Awards. It was so great seeing those who had put in so many years of talent and humanitarian work receive their flowers. What a lot of Republicans call 'woke' is not the same as its original meaning. I wonder who exactly is he referring to when he talks of 'woke' people/artists.
Beck23
(358 posts)Will Trump fire all the women and blacks who play in the NSO?
sdfernando
(5,597 posts)and he will accuse them of "Formalism"
Ray Bruns
(5,032 posts)
they all quit.
Dem4life1234
(2,520 posts)Why does he think he deserves worship? He's not even a good leader.
He will turn it sleazy.
NBachers
(18,368 posts)mackdaddy
(1,716 posts)He renamed an entire Gulf don't you know...
kimbutgar
(24,478 posts)FakeNoose
(36,836 posts)
Martin68
(25,124 posts)off-the-clock
(252 posts)If PBS say no then bye-bye PBS, if they say yes then what other crap will PBS have to showcase?
By the way there is a famous opera star who I believe is associated with Putin and maybe she'll appear there. Anna Netrebko.
LudwigPastorius
(11,848 posts)The PBS network may be gone regardless of what they do with Kennedy Center broadcasts.
Now that Trump and the GOP hold the White House and both houses of Congress I don't doubt that they will try to kill the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which funds PBS, NPR, American Public Television, and others).
If they can't kill it completely, they will defund it.
They've tried in the past, but didn't have the numbers in Congress. Now they do.
birdographer
(2,826 posts)sheshe2
(90,323 posts)
Norrrm
(722 posts)aocommunalpunch
(4,432 posts)Lapp Dogg would bring all the self-haters to the yard.
YoshidaYui
(43,352 posts)go find some where else to work,... and let all it FALL into Trumps toilet
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(119,973 posts)rpannier
(24,662 posts)Many plays starring Voight, Gibson, and Stallone
muriel_volestrangler
(103,208 posts)As "Honorary Chairs", it's not as if they'll have any power to alter what the Criminal Rapist does to the institution. There's no "honor" left in them being there.
JohnSJ
(97,986 posts)Beartracks
(13,784 posts)Assuming they actually have a point beyond petty vindictiveness.
===============
Daleuhlmann
(407 posts)No reputable artists should lower themselves to giving a command peformance for his Orange Majesty!
TommieMommy
(1,648 posts)Sailingdiver
(215 posts)Ted "crap muh pants" nugent and the idiot from Detroit, the Joe dirt like guy, hell i forget his name, the moron who shoots at bud light.
So I'm sure the KC will be filled.
malthaussen
(18,014 posts)Any artists who perform there will be expected to convey the State's message. They neither need nor care about any who will not comply.
-- Mal