Trump’s Kennedy Center Ordered to Pay $250,000 to Jazz Musician Who Defeated Lawsuit
Chuck Redd faced litigation after pulling out of a Christmas Eve concert in protest of the venue adding Donald Trump's name to its moniker.
Jazz musician Chuck Redd has been awarded $252,000 by a judge in Washington, D.C. for his legal fees incurred during a failed lawsuit against the Kennedy Center. The dispute arose after President Donald Trump's name was added to the historic venue in 2025, prompting Redd to cancel his performance at the center's annual Christmas Eve Jazz Jam.
The Kennedy Center, controlled by Trump at the time, had renamed itself the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Redd's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment on the award. The venue's spokesperson stated they intended to appeal the fee amount. Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier dismissed the center's breach of contract claims against Redd in June, ruling that he had not signed a binding contract for the show.
Due to the anti-SLAPP statute, Redd was entitled to recover his legal fees spent on the case, which the judge awarded him in the amount of $252,000.
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