<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Kennedy Centre is ending the year with a new round of artists saying they are cancelling scheduled performances after US President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="_blank" title="Donald Trump's"><span>Donald Trump's</span></a><span> name was added to the facility, prompting the institution's president to accuse the performers of making their decisions because of politics.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Cookers, a jazz supergroup that has performed together for nearly two decades, announced their withdrawal from "A Jazz New Year's Eve" on their website, saying the "decision has come together very quickly" and acknowledging frustration from those who may have planned to attend.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Doug Varone and Dancers, a dance group based in New York, said in an Instagram post this week they would pull out of a performance slated for April, saying they "can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution."</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/tatiana-schlossberg-john-f-kennedy-granddaughter-dies-aged-35-weeks-after-terminal-cancer-diagnosis/38d713bf-6569-43d8-b4ca-f8cb8db39b04" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Granddaughter of John F Kennedy dies weeks after terminal cancer reveal</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those moves come after musician Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance last week. They also come amid declining sales for tickets to the venue, as well as news that viewership for the December 23 broadcast of the Kennedy Centre Honours – which Trump had predicted would soar – was down by about 35 per cent compared to the 2024 show.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The announcements amount to a volatile calendar for one of the most prominent performing arts venues in the US and cap a year of tension in which Trump ousted the Kennedy Centre board and named himself the institution's chairman.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That led to an earlier round of artist pushback, with performer Issa Rae and the producers of </span><em><span>Hamilton</span></em><span> cancelling scheduled engagements while musicians Ben Folds and Renee Fleming stepped down from advisory roles.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/kennedy-centre-renamed-trump-more-artists-cancelling-appearances-there/ab14241d-72d6-4a08-a16d-0f509f83eae8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/news-2025-damien-martyn-rushed-to-hospital-sick-illness-australia-world-cup-batter-hero/595d6319-a771-4d99-be21-27c4c0d91917" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Iconic Aussie cricket legend 'in fight of his life' in hospital</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Cookers didn't mention the building's renaming or the Trump administration but did say that, when they return to performing, they wanted to ensure that "the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it," reiterating a commitment "to playing music that reaches across divisions rather than deepening them."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The group may not have addressed the Kennedy Centre situation directly, but one of its members has.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Saturday, saxophone player Billy Harper said in comments posted on the Jazz Stage Facebook page that he "would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture. The same music I devoted my life to creating and advancing."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pauline-hanson-likeability-boost-new-poll-shows/4c24a965-6d9e-4f52-b59a-a61ae27b4029" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Good news in new poll for Hanson - but who is our most-liked politician?</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to the White House, Trump's handpicked board approved the renaming. Harper said both the board "as well as the name displayed on the building itself represents a mentality and practices I always stood against. And still do, today more than ever."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Richard Grenell, a Trump ally whom the president chose to head the Kennedy Centre after he forced out the previous leadership, posted Monday night on X, "The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership," intimating the bookings were made under the Biden administration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a statement to The Associated Press, Grenell said the "last minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone – even those they disagree with politically," adding that the Kennedy Centre had been "flooded with inquiries from real artists willing to perform for everyone and who reject political statements in their artistry."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was no immediate word from Kennedy Centre officials about whether the entity would pursue legal action against the latest round of artists to cancel performances. Following Redd's cancellation last week, Grenell said he would seek $US1 million ($1.49 million) in damages for what he called a "political stunt."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Not all artists are calling off their shows. Bluegrass banjoist Randy Barrett, scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Centre next month, told the AP he was "deeply troubled by the politicisation" of the venue and respected those who had canceled but feels that "our tribalised country needs more music and art, not less. It's one of the few things that can bring us together."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the centre as a living memorial to him. Scholars have said any changes to the building's name would need congressional approval; the law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person's name on the building's exterior.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>