Kennedy Center Must Pay $252,000 to Musician It Sued Over Trump Name Protest
A judge in Washington, DC, has ordered the Kennedy Center to cover more than $250,000 in legal fees for jazz musician Chuck Redd, months after the institution unsuccessfully sued him over his decision to pull out of a Christmas Eve performance.
Redd had been scheduled to host the Kennedy Center’s annual holiday jazz concert, an event he has led for nearly two decades. The drummer and vibraphonist withdrew from the Dec. 24 performance after the center’s board voted to add President Donald Trump’s name to the performing arts venue. Redd told CNN at the time that he “was saddened to see this name change.”
In an email to a Kennedy Center employee, Redd also said he would feel deeply uncomfortable performing at the venue while Trump’s name remained on the building.
The Kennedy Center responded by suing Redd in March, alleging that his withdrawal less than a week before the concert amounted to a breach of contract and caused financial and reputational harm to the institution. The lawsuit sought an unspecified amount in damages.
“As a result of Defendant Redd’s malfeasance, the Center was forced to cancel the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam concert at the last minute, depriving hundreds of members of the public the Christmas Concert offered by the Center, and causing the Center reputational, marketing, and concert preparation damages.”
The dispute had already escalated shortly after Redd canceled. Richard Grenell, then president of the Kennedy Center, sent the musician a letter condemning the decision and tying it directly to Redd’s objections to the renaming.
Before the Kennedy Center ultimately filed suit, Grenell had threatened to seek $1 million from Redd and characterized his withdrawal as a “political stunt.”
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment—explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure—is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Grenell, a longtime Trump confidant, wrote.
Grenell was replaced as head of the Kennedy Center in March.
The case did not survive. In June, Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, dismissed the Kennedy Center’s lawsuit after concluding that it had failed “to state a valid breach of contract claim.” Redd, she found, had never signed an agreement before canceling the performance.
Jones Bosier also found that the Kennedy Center did not appear to have suffered financial harm from the cancellation, noting that the Christmas Eve concert was free.
On Monday, Bosier issued another ruling in the dispute, awarding Redd more than $252,000 in legal fees and ordering the Kennedy Center to pay within 45 days.
Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, the attorneys representing Redd, are prominent employment lawyers who have previously represented Christine Blasey Ford, who testified during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation process.
Banks told CNN in a statement the ruling was a rejection of the institution’s effort to punish the musician for opposing the name change.
“The Trump-controlled Kennedy Center tried to silence opposition to its illegal name change by filing a meritless lawsuit against jazz musician Chuck Redd. The court rightly dismissed that breach of contract lawsuit, finding there was no contract and no damages, and was brought against Mr. Redd based on his protected opposition.”
In a separate statement Tuesday, Banks said people should not have to spend their time and money defending themselves against lawsuits she described as baseless and politically motivated.
Redd’s attorneys later sought more than $258,000 in legal fees and related costs. Kennedy Center lawyers challenged that request ahead of the ruling, arguing in court filings that the amount was excessive and calling the calculation “astonishing.”
The controversy surrounding the center’s name also continued outside the courtroom. In May, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s name had been added to the institution without the required congressional approval and ordered it removed. The Kennedy Center appealed that ruling.
Later in June, following a legal back-and-forth, Trump’s name was removed from both the exterior of the Kennedy Center building and the institution’s website. The letters were taken off the marble facade as scaffolding and tarps were erected around part of the building, temporarily obscuring portions of the original name.
The dispute with Redd came amid a wider backlash to Trump’s changes at the Kennedy Center during his second term. Artists and audience members boycotted the institution, particularly after its board voted to add Trump’s name, while center officials criticized performers who withdrew from scheduled appearances. The lawsuit against Redd marked the most aggressive action the institution had taken against an artist who backed out of a planned performance.
The Kennedy Center has also faced uncertainty over its immediate future, with a largely empty performance calendar since July as its board considers Trump’s proposal to close the venue for two years of renovations.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said the institution plans to appeal the decision.
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.