A host of performers have canceled upcoming shows at the Kennedy Center — after the White House announced President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the performing arts institution in Washington.
The Cookers, a jazz septet, was slated to perform twice on New Year’s Eve at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. However, the group announced Monday that it would no longer be performing those shows.
“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” the Cookers said in a Monday statement. “Some of us have been making this music for many decades, and that history still shapes us. We are not turning away from our audience, and do want to make sure that when we do return to the bandstand, the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it.”
Additionally, the band’s drummer, Billy Hart, told The New York Times that the addition of Trump’s name to the performing arts center “evidently” played a factor in the group’s decision to withdraw.
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Likewise, Doug Varone and Dancers also unveiled plans Monday that the New York dance company would no longer perform in shows at the Kennedy Center originally scheduled for April.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Meanwhile, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell said that those who have canceled their upcoming shows were booked under the former, “far left leadership.”
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“The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” Grenell said in a post on social media Monday. “Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it.”
The cancellations come days after the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the institution the “Trump–Kennedy Center” on Dec. 18. Additionally, Trump’s name was added to the Kennedy Center’s exterior, and its website header was updated to “The Trump Kennedy Center.”
Other musical guests also have canceled their performances at the Kennedy Center recently, following the name change. For example, longtime jazz musician Chuck Redd announced earlier in December he was pulling out of his Christmas Eve performance.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press Wednesday.
Trump removed leadership at the Kennedy Center in February, and is now currently serving as the Kennedy Center board chair. Members serving on the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees include second lady Usha Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
Fox News’ Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
