A District of Columbia Superior Court judge has directed the Kennedy Center to pay $252,479.70 in legal fees to musician Chuck Redd, who canceled a Christmas Eve concert at the venue after Donald Trump's name was added to the institution. Judge Tanya Jones Bosier issued the order on Monday, giving the center 45 days to complete payment. The ruling follows a June decision that dismissed the Kennedy Center's lawsuit against Redd under the district's anti-SLAPP statute, a law designed to shield individuals from legal action intended to suppress protected speech.
According to Deadline, the sum awarded to Redd's legal team was roughly $6,000 less than what his attorneys had originally requested. A separate report from Bloomberg described the figure as exceeding $250,000 and noted that the court granted nearly the entirety of the fees Redd's side had sought.
Why did the Kennedy Center sue Redd in the first place?
The center pursued legal action after Redd withdrew from his scheduled Christmas Eve performance, arguing the cancellation amounted to a breach of contract. Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed president of the Kennedy Center, characterized Redd's decision as a "political stunt" and initially threatened to seek $1 million in damages. Court filings later show that figure was scaled back considerably, with the center's claim eventually reduced to $7,500, according to a report from Tribune. Redd's band had originally been booked to receive $6,500 for what was intended as a free concert, per Washingtonian.
On what grounds was the lawsuit dismissed?
When the case was initially thrown out, Judge Bosier stated she "could not find a valid breach-of-contract claim," pointing out that Redd had never signed the 2025 agreement in question, a detail reported by Washingtonian. The dismissal relied on the district's anti-SLAPP protections, which exist specifically to prevent lawsuits from being used to silence individuals exercising protected speech. Following that defeat, Redd asked the court to require the Kennedy Center to cover the legal expenses he incurred in mounting his defense, a request the judge has now granted.
Redd's cancellation stemmed directly from the Kennedy Center's Trump-controlled board voting to rename the institution "The Donald J Trump and The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts," after which Trump's name appeared on the building's exterior and in its digital materials. That renaming was later invalidated: a federal judge determined the board lacked the authority to make the change and ordered all Trump-related references stripped from the building and its official communications, as detailed in our earlier coverage of Trump's name being removed from the Kennedy Center. That same court also intervened to block the administration from shutting the venue down for renovations planned to begin in July and continue for two years, with US District Judge Christopher Cooper demanding thorough documentation on how such a closure would impact the center's operations. A subsequent dispute over a tarp covering the building's facade, chronicled in our report on the judge's demand for an explanation of the covering, underscored how contentious the naming saga has remained.
What comes next for the Kennedy Center?
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center confirmed the organization plans to appeal the fee award, meaning the financial dispute with Redd is unlikely to be resolved soon despite the 45-day payment deadline set by the court. Meanwhile, documents obtained separately describe planned renovations that could include polishing the venue's Carrara marble facade, remodeling its main halls and theaters, and relocating some flagship events off-site over the coming years.
Key Facts
- Judge Tanya Jones Bosier ordered the Kennedy Center to pay $252,479.70 within 45 days.
- The award was about $6,000 less than requested but covered nearly all of Redd's legal costs, according to Deadline and Bloomberg.
- The Kennedy Center's original $1 million damages demand was later reduced to $7,500 in court filings.
- Redd's band had been due to receive $6,500 for the canceled free concert.
- The Kennedy Center says it intends to appeal the ruling.
