Television producer Shonda Rhimes stepped down from her role as treasurer of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 12. Ben Folds, artistic advisor of the National Symphony Orchestra housed in the center, also stepped down from his role.
Actor and writer Issa Rae canceled her sold-out show at the center, and Jeffery Steller, producer for the hit musical “Hamilton,” announced the musical’s anticipated 2026 run at the center has been canceled March 5.
These resignations and more follow the appointment of President Donald Trump as the chairman of the Kennedy Center Board. Deborah F. Rutter was fired as the center’s longtime president along with board members who did not share Trump’s personal vision for the center.
“Some institutions are sacred and should be protected from politics,” Steller wrote in a statement posted on X. “The Kennedy Center is one such institution.”
Since 1971, the Kennedy Center has connected artists, musicians and people across the nation through a celebration of creativity, arts and a general sense of togetherness. The center’s vision is to “share, inspire, and celebrate the cultural heritage by which a great society is defined and remembered.” The center welcomes 2 million visitors each year with around 2,200 events.
Following a visit to the center March 17, Trump promised a complete overhaul of the center. He said the center “represents a very important part of D.C., and actually our own country.”
“The Kennedy Center has learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.
Leavitt’s statement went on to say Trump and other newly-appointed members of the center, including Richard Grenell as interim president and second lady Usha Vance, will work to rebuild the center and the changes will reflect “America’s great values and traditions.”
According to The New York Times, a board member said the center will host some shows not affiliated with Actors’ Equity, the labor union of American actors and stage managers in theater, to allow for more options for performances and to make more money.
Although no changes other than the shakeup of the board have taken place yet, Trump proposed a revision of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual televised gala honoring the achievements of those who have made a significant impact through performing arts. Trump did not attend the ceremony during his first term and said the honors celebrate “radical left lunatics.”
Trump toyed with the idea of giving posthumous honors to the likes of Elvis Presely, Babe Ruth and Luciano Pavarotti, and expanding the honors to recognize those in sports, politics and business. The board proposed the center should honor Celine Dion, Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Bocelli and Johnny Mathis.
Trump also commented on the structure of the center, saying the concept for recent work was poor and built terribly.
The long term future for the center is unclear, but Trump’s comments and proposed changes promise many changes ahead for the entertainment industry. It is clear, however, that the Kennedy Center Honors will look different this year than in years past, and other changes to the center remain uncertain.
