Kennedy Center Ordered to Pay $250,000 to Jazz Musician It Unsuccessfully Sued for Backing Out of Concert After Trump Rebranding

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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A judge has ruled that the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. must pay a jazz musician $252,000 in legal fees and costs, following the organization’s unsuccessful lawsuit against him for pulling out of a concert in the wake of a rebranding to include Donald J. Trump‘s name.

Chuck Redd hosted and performed at the Kennedy Center’s annual Christmas Eve concerts for years, but he bowed out of performing at last December’s planned gig, citing “the defiant and illegal name change happening to the Kennedy Center.” The Kennedy Center — or the Trump Kennedy Center, as it was then temporarily known — subsequently sued Redd for breach of contract.

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