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Since Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center in February and named himself chairman of the Board of Trustees, more than 20 shows scheduled for the venue have been canceled. In response, local musician Yasmin Williams emailed the interim executive director, Richard Grenell, to ask for clarity about Trump’s reaction to artists canceling shows and any operational changes implemented behind the scenes. As shown in screenshots posted to Williams’ Instagram, Grenell did not take kindly to her inquiry and went on an unhinged rant.
“I tried emailing him to go to the direct source for my questions (since news articles discussing the Kennedy Center happenings are often times conflicting) and was treated like this,” Williams explained in the caption of her post. “I hope posting this email thread illuminates the terrible folks who are now leading the Kennedy Center. I’ve had so many amazing career and life highlights at the Kennedy Center and I hate to think that the establishment could be run down permanently by this man.”
Williams began her initial email by explaining she has played at the Kennedy Center “many times in the last few years” and hopes to perform there again “in the near future.” However, she has “read a lot of commentary from musician friends and former patrons” who are concerned about DEI rollbacks, the cancellation of shows like the Finn musical and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, and changes in the Board of Trustees.
“These events have caused a major negative reaction in my musical community to playing at the Kennedy Center, with lots of individuals I know ultimately cancelling their shows there,” she wrote. “Most folks seem to be placing the blame on the President for [degrading] the formerly prestigious institution, with lots of people I know who live in the area, and elsewhere, stating that they will no longer attend shows at the Kennedy Center and/or won’t play there until the President leaves office.”
She ended with two questions: “Does the President actually care about artists cancelling shows at the Kennedy Center?” and “What, if anything, has changed about the Kennedy Center regarding hiring practices, performance booking, and staffing?”
Grenell replied by asking if Williams would play for Republicans or “boycott” if Republicans attended her show. “Boycotting anything because Republicans exist and may be at a show of mine makes no sense to me,” Williams wrote back. “Is this related to the questions I asked?”
In response, Grenell claimed the Kennedy Center didn’t cancel “a single show.” However, “every single person” who did cancel a performance chose to do so because “they couldn’t be in the presence” of Republicans. “You shouldn’t believe what you read in the newspapers,” he wrote.
Then, Grenell took a sharp turn by calling Williams “the intolerant one” and blaming “your people” for JD Vance being loudly booed at the Kennedy Center.
Taking the insults in stride, Williams asked the same questions again and clarified that his assumptions about her “political leanings” were “incorrect.”
Finally giving a detailed response, Grenell blamed “woke” programming and “DEI bullshit” for some of the Kennedy Center’s financial issues and other woes.
“I’m too busy to confront your vapidness to believe what you read without doing your own research,” he wrote, adding that Williams’ “assumptions” were wrong. “The Kennedy has zero in the bank and zero in reserves and has been paying the staff with debt reserve money for the past 8 months. The fundraising has been atrocious. The building is falling down and the place hasn’t been updated in 20 years.”
Grenell also claimed the Kennedy Center spent “$260 million” on a “new facility that they didn’t need.” He continued, “The programs are so woke that they haven’t made money. Yes, I cut the DEI bullshit because we can’t afford to pay people for fringe and niche programming that the public won’t support.”
“We are doing programming for the masses in order to pay our bills,” Grenell explained, calling the musicians who left “the most intolerant people you’ve ever met.” He maintained that these artists wouldn’t play if Republicans were present.
Without a hint of irony, Grenell capped off his responses by reiterating his claim that Williams accused him of being intolerant. “Don’t be a victim now,” he sneered. “You asked.”
See the full email thread below.
On February 7th, Trump fired dozens of board members at the Kennedy Center and removed Deborah Rutter from her role as president. In protest, Ben Folds resigned from his advisory position, and Hamilton canceled its scheduled spring run.
Within a month, dozens of shows were listed as canceled or postponed, with reasons listed as “Canceled by artist,” “Canceled due to low ticket sales,” or “Canceled for financial reasons.”
As seemingly confirmed by Grenell himself, many of the shows that were canceled or postponed for “financial reasons” included themes contradicting with Trump’s “non-woke” vision for the cultural institution, like the LGBTQ+ musical Finn.
However, some performers have pushed back. Guster recently brought the cast of Finn onstage to perform a rendition of the band’s song “Hard Times,” and Conan O’Brien rebuked Trump while accepting the Mark Twain Prize by noting how the award’s namesake “hated bullies. He punched up, not down, and he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak.”
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