Cancellations are rocking the Kennedy Center over a controversial name change, and the numbers tell a curious tale.
Several performers, including The Cookers, Kristy Lee, Chuck Redd, and Doug Varone and Dancers, have pulled out of their scheduled shows at the Kennedy Center in protest of the proposed rebranding to “Trump-Kennedy Center,” with some of these artists facing notably poor ticket sales before their exits, while earlier cancellations this year by big names like Issa Rae and the creators of Hamilton boasted sold-out crowds, as Breitbart reports.
High-profile acts like Issa Rae and the Hamilton team walked away from packed houses, citing discomfort with the political shift following the Trump administration’s influence over the center.
Fast forward to now, and the latest batch of cancellations paints a different picture. The Cookers, Kristy Lee, Chuck Redd, and Doug Varone and Dancers have all backed out, echoing similar objections to the name change..
Take The Cookers, for instance, who were slated for the Terrace Theater, a venue holding 500 souls. They’d sold a mere 60 tickets before calling it quits—hardly a stampede to the box office.
Chuck Redd’s story isn’t much brighter, with his free Millennium Stage performance, seating about 200, drawing just 63 registered attendees. If you’re canceling over principle, shouldn’t there at least be a crowd to miss you?
Doug Varone and Dancers, a lesser-known troupe, also joined the exodus, explicitly pointing to the rebranding as their reason. “Yes, we did cancel because of the name change,” Varone told the Daily Mail. While their conviction is clear, one wonders if a niche act like theirs, not even booked in the main theaters, expected a roaring turnout regardless of the venue’s name.
Compare that to Miranda Lambert, who performed at the Kennedy Center Honors this month with a whopping 5.5 million monthly Spotify listeners. Meanwhile, The Cookers, Kristy Lee, and Chuck Redd together muster just over 15,000 monthly listeners—hardly a cultural juggernaut to rally behind.
The Cookers’ saxophonist Billy Harper didn’t hold back on social media, decrying the venue’s direction. “I 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,” Harper posted on Facebook. While his passion is evident, the empty seats suggest the protest might be more symbolic than impactful.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell isn’t taking these cancellations lying down. He’s quick to note that these artists were booked under the prior administration.
Grenell also announced a lawsuit against Chuck Redd, seeking $1 million in damages for the abrupt cancellation.
Looking at the bigger picture, the name change to “Trump-Kennedy Center” itself remains uncertain, possibly needing Congressional approval to stick. Until then, these cancellations—especially from acts with lukewarm fan support—feel like a storm in a teacup.
One can respect an artist’s right to stand on principle, but when ticket sales are this dismal, it’s hard to see the protest as a cultural earthquake. Were these cancellations truly about the name, or a convenient exit from poorly received shows?
Perhaps the Kennedy Center’s new leadership has a point: art should unite, not divide, based on political litmus tests.
In the end, while the debate over the center’s name rages on, the empty seats of these recent cancellations speak louder than the protests. Maybe it’s time for artists and administrators alike to focus less on symbolic battles and more on filling theaters with talent that draws a crowd—regardless of politics.
