Kennedy Center ordered to pay Chuck Redd legal fees
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A Washington judge has ordered the Kennedy Center to pay $252,000 in legal fees to jazz musician Chuck Redd after dismissing a lawsuit brought by the venue. Redd had withdrawn from the center's Christmas Eve Jazz Jam in December following the addition of Trump's name to the building's official title, which the venue's board had briefly approved. The Kennedy Center subsequently sued for breach of contract, claiming Redd cancelled to make a political statement.
The court threw out the case in June, finding that Redd had never signed a binding performance agreement. Because the dismissal invoked Washington's anti-SLAPP statute—designed to protect free speech by punishing frivolous litigation meant to silence speakers—Redd was entitled to recover his legal expenses. A concurrent federal court ruling separately determined that only Congress possesses authority to rename the historic venue, leading to the restoration of its original name. The Kennedy Center has announced plans to appeal the fee award.
- Judge awards jazz musician Chuck Redd $252,000 in legal fees after Kennedy Center's breach-of-contract lawsuit against him was dismissed.
- Redd had cancelled a Christmas Eve performance in protest after Trump's name was added to the building; court found no binding contract existed and applied anti-SLAPP protections.
- Separate federal ruling determined only Congress can rename the Kennedy Center, not its board; the building's name has been restored.
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The Kennedy Center, formally the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is Washington's main national cultural venue and hosts regular events including a jazz jam session on Christmas Eve. Chuck Redd is a jazz musician who was due to perform at that event. He pulled out after the centre's board briefly approved adding Donald Trump's name to the building's official title, a change that was later reversed following a separate federal court ruling that only Congress has the power to rename the venue.
The Kennedy Center then sued Redd, arguing his withdrawal breached a contract and was really a political protest rather than a genuine cancellation. Redd's defence relied on Washington DC's anti-SLAPP law, a type of statute that exists to stop powerful organisations using lawsuits to punish or discourage people for speaking out, by allowing courts to dismiss weak cases quickly and make the claimant cover the defendant's legal costs.
This case matters because it touches on both the governance of a prominent public institution and the limits of using contract law to respond to perceived political statements. The size of the fee award and the venue's plan to appeal suggest the legal dispute is not yet over.
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Originally published by Billboard as “Trump’s Kennedy Center Ordered to Pay $250,000 to Jazz Musician Who Defeated Lawsuit”.