June 17, 2026
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10:57Now PlayingAttorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian cover the dismissal of the Trump Kennedy Center's $1 million lawsuit against jazz drummer Chuck Redd. Redd hosted the free Christmas Eve Jazz Jam at the Kennedy Center every year since 2006. When Trump slapped his name on the building in December 2025, Redd canceled. Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center's Trump-appointed president, sent a letter threatening $1 million in damages "for this political stunt." The center sued for breach of contract despite three fatal problems: there was no signed contract, the concert was free so there were no lost revenues, and the Kennedy Center is now closed for renovations anyway. A D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed the case under the District's anti-SLAPP law, finding the lawsuit was designed to punish Redd for exercising his right to speak on a matter of public interest. The ruling requires the Kennedy Center to pay Redd's attorneys' fees and could set precedent if the administration tries to sue other artists who pulled out, including Philip Glass, Rhiannon Giddens, Bela Fleck, Issa Rae, and the San Francisco Ballet. Redd's attorney called it "political retribution, pure and simple."
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