Artist to Pull Kennedy Center Show Over Trump Rename [View all]
Source: Daily Beast
Updated Dec. 21 2025 6:04PM EST
Published Dec. 21 2025 11:15AM EST
The Kennedy Center is already losing performers after Donald Trump slapped his name on the storied arts institution. Kristy Lee, a folk singer scheduled to perform at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 14, is in talks to cancel her appearance, her spokesperson told NOTUS, as other artists also move to sever ties with the venue.
One performer, who spoke to NOTUS on the condition of anonymity, said Trumps renaming had left a permanent stain on the center. Another lamented what the Kennedy Center once representedfor artists and for the country at large. I feel really badly for performers, not just for performers but for the people who work there, they said.
Kennedy Center is supposed to be a memorial, focusing on being nonpartisan. A place where people, it doesnt matter what party they believe in, should be performing and experiencing the arts together regardless of what their party is. And it has not become that.
Other artists who reluctantly chose to keep their scheduled performances at the center told NOTUS they are doing so as an act of resistance to the 79-year-old president.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/artist-to-pull-kennedy-center-show-over-trump-rename/
Link to NOTUS article -
Artists Are Threatening to Cancel Over Trumps Kennedy Center Renaming