A court ordered the Kennedy Center to reimburse the musician $252,000 in expenses
A judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) to pay $252,479.70 to cover musician Chuck Redd’s legal fees and court costs. He canceled a concert at the venue scheduled for Christmas Eve after learning that Donald Trump’s name had been added to the institution’s title.
Judge Tanya Jones Bozie ruled that the Kennedy Center must transfer the funds to Redd’s attorneys within 45 days, according to The Guardian World. The musician had sought reimbursement for his legal defense costs following a lawsuit filed by the center over the cancellation of his performance.
In June, the court dismissed the Kennedy Center’s lawsuit and ruled in Redd’s favor under the District of Columbia’s anti-SLAPP law. This law is designed to protect people from lawsuits intended to suppress legally protected speech.
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A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center stated that the institution intends to appeal the decision. After the concert was canceled last year, Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed president of the Kennedy Center, called the musician’s decision a “political stunt” and threatened to file a $1 million lawsuit.
The Kennedy Center’s board, which is controlled by Trump, had previously voted to rename the institution the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” Following that, Trump’s name was added to the building’s facade and to the center’s digital materials.
In May, a federal judge ruled that the board did not have the authority to rename the Kennedy Center and ordered that all references to Trump be removed from the building and the institution’s official communications. The administration also blocked the planned closure of the cultural center for a two-year renovation.
