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Miles Archer

(21,798 posts) Fri Dec 19, 2025, 08:34 PM Dec 19

Livid performers weigh canceling shows over Trump's 'stain' on Kennedy Center

Livid performers weigh canceling shows over Trump's 'stain' on Kennedy Center

https://www.rawstory.com/kennedy-center-trump-2674816085/

“I feel really badly for performers, not just for performers but for the people who work there,” one person scheduled to perform at the center told Notus, who was granted anonymity due to fears of retribution. “Kennedy Center is supposed to be a memorial, focusing on being nonpartisan. A place where people, it doesn’t matter what party they believe in, should be performing and experiencing the arts together regardless of what their party is. And it has not become that.”

The performer added: “It’s no longer a focus on the arts, and it’s very sad. And I know a lot of the people that I perform with are very sad.”

Another artist who said they planned to keep their performance date told the outlet: “Reality show personality and con artist aren’t the type of artist the center showcases.”

And yet another said Trump's name was a "stain" on the center.

7 replies

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Highlight:

Livid performers weigh canceling shows over Trump's 'stain' on Kennedy Center (Original Post) Miles Archer Dec 19 OP

They thought ticket sales sucked now? Just wait for the blowback from this bullshit. hatrack Dec 19 #1

Didn't ticket sales tank almost as soon as trump took over? mwmisses4289 Dec 19 #2

I dare say they will be underwater, mercuryblues Dec 19 #3

They can't even sell out "The Nutcracker" at Christmas . . . and even that wouldn't pay the bills. hatrack Dec 19 #5

it's like a J6 insurrectionist smearing shit on the Capitol walls eShirl Dec 19 #4

Yes, a big Shit "stain".... It seems like Cha Dec 19 #6

Look at the 2026 calendar after the name change LetMyPeopleVote Dec 26 #7

hatrack

(64,264 posts)

1. They thought ticket sales sucked now? Just wait for the blowback from this bullshit.

Reply to Miles Archer (Original post)

Fri Dec 19, 2025, 08:44 PM

Dec 19

mwmisses4289

(3,243 posts)

2. Didn't ticket sales tank almost as soon as trump took over?

Reply to hatrack (Reply #1)

Fri Dec 19, 2025, 09:41 PM

Dec 19

They are really going to tank now.

mercuryblues

(16,175 posts)

3. I dare say they will be underwater,

Reply to mwmisses4289 (Reply #2)

Fri Dec 19, 2025, 09:53 PM

Dec 19

Just like trump.

hatrack

(64,264 posts)

5. They can't even sell out "The Nutcracker" at Christmas . . . and even that wouldn't pay the bills.

Reply to mwmisses4289 (Reply #2)

Fri Dec 19, 2025, 11:23 PM

Dec 19

Ticket sales for the Kennedy Center’s annual performance of “The Nutcracker” have plummeted under the new leadership of President Donald Trump, who took over as the organization’s chairman earlier this year, CNN reported Saturday.

According to internal sales data obtained and reviewed by CNN, ticket sales for the Kennedy Center’s performance of “The Nutcracker” topped out at around 10,000 seats across the production’s seven performances, around a 33% drop off from the around 15,000 ticket sales for the production seen in 2001 through 2024.

A person with knowledge of the internal workings of the Kennedy Center told CNN that even if the performance of “The Nutcracker” were to have sold out this year, the costs for the performance would still outweigh the revenue from ticket sales.

EDIT

“One of the financial lifelines of the center is Broadway,” said a former Kennedy Center employee, speaking with CNN on the condition of anonymity. “Broadway tours are looking at where they should be playing, and in many cases, they are choosing not the Kennedy Center.” Under the Kennedy Center’s new Trump-approved board of trustees, performers had also been vetted for their gender identity, according to Marc Bamuthi Joseph, the former head of the center’s social impact team whose role was terminated after Trump was sworn into office.

EDIT

https://www.rawstory.com/kennedy-center-2674376979/