Judge tosses Kennedy Center suit against musician who canceled Christmas Eve show [View all]

Source: AP

By MELISSA GOLDIN
Updated 2:20 PM CDT, June 6, 2026
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Attorneys for musician Chuck Redd say a D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit filed against Redd after he canceled a Christmas Eve performance at the Kennedy Center in protest of President Donald Trump’s influence over the venue.

The dismissal on Friday was granted under Washington’s Anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to prevent meritless lawsuits intended to silence opposing points of view on matters of public interest.

Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, had presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He called off last year’s performance shortly after Trump’s handpicked board at the Kennedy Center voted to add the president’s name to the facility.

“The Center sued Mr. Redd because he publicly and rightly objected to adding Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy,” Lisa J. Banks, one of Redd’s lawyers, said in a statement. “The lawsuit against Mr. Redd was political retribution, pure and simple, by the Trump Kennedy Center, and the Court correctly saw it as such in dismissing the case with prejudice.”



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-center-trump-chuck-redd-lawsuit-dismissed-8ef9936186210b5778e73893b94d9126