Kennedy Center Head Says the Acts Who’ve Canceled Are “Niche Talent”

Upwards of 20 acts have canceled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center in protest of Donald Trump’s takeover of the venue, including a touring production of Hamilton, legendary composers Philip Glass and Stephen Scwartz, and Grammy-winning musicians Renée Fleming, Béla Fleck, and Rhiannon Giddens. Additionally, the Washington National Opera severed ties with the Kennedy Center after 55 years.

However, in an interview with News Nation, Ric Grenell, the current interim president of the Kennedy Center, dismissed some of acts who’ve canceled shows as “niche talent” who “could not get a supply and demand audience.” Without naming names, he seemed to single out banjoist Béla Fleck.

“A lot of these people were getting paid on State Department contracts in the past or government funds to go perform, because they could not get a supply and demand audience. They couldn’t participate in capitalism,” Grenell claimed. “Maybe they have a niche talent that is interesting, they play an interesting type of banjo.”

“Look, I think a lot of the arts programming, arts education is very smart when it’s niche,” Grenell added. “You can’t do niche programming if you don’t have your books balanced, if you don’t have enough money. Everybody knows that you can’t go on vacation if you can’t pay your mortgage or your car payment, right? So you can’t do that extra stuff. Arts as education, I’m not suggesting is always extra. But for a place like the Trump-Kennedy Center, we have to have our fiscal house in order as we do some of this.”

Throughout his tenure, Grenell has repeatedly claimed the Kennedy Center was in dire financial straits when he took over, and has touted the organization’s record-breaking fundraising totals under his leadership, even as ticket sales have reportedly declined.

Looking ahead, Grenell said his team is targeting “common sense programming from the left, right, and center,” with a particular focus on “people on the right with families.” As an example, he cited the example of Second Lady Usha Vance’s recommendation of bringing the the children’s show Dog Man to the Kennedy Center.