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About a dozen cast members of Les Miserables reportedly intend to metaphorically leave “empty chairs at empty tables” when Donald Trump attends a Kennedy Center performance.
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In response, the Center’s president, Richard Grenell, reminded patrons that he’s the “master of the house” now and called out the actors planning to boycott.
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Will Trump still attend and call the Kennedy Center his “castle on a cloud” or will Grenfell be “on his own pretending he’s beside me?”
The Kennedy Center’s so mad you would’ve thought someone stole a loaf of bread.
On Wednesday, following CNN’s report that 10 to 12 performers in the current touring company of Les Miserables plan to sit out the night Donald Trump attends, the Kennedy Center boss is calling out the actors’ form of protest.
“We haven’t heard this rumor,” read a statement from Richard Grenell, whom Trump appointed as the interim Kennedy Center director back in February as part of a broader purge of the performing arts center’s board. “But the Kennedy Center will no longer fund intolerance.”
“Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed,” Grenell’s statement continues. “In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.”
Matthew Murphy
The company of ‘Les Miserables’
“The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together,” the statement concludes.
Earlier in the day, CNN exclusively reported that sources had told them at least a dozen cast members were planning to boycott the show on the night of June 11, when Trump plans to attend Les Mis. Sources also told CNN that the cast was given the option not to perform that night and that both leading actors, as well as members of the ensemble will be exercising that choice.
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This kerfuffle is the latest back-and-forth in the tension between the arts community and Trump, of which the Kennedy Center has become a particular point of contention. Shortly after taking office in January, Trump made good on his promise to install himself as chairman of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center, which was first established in 1964.
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
The company of ‘Les Miserables’
Trump had previously posted on social media that he planned to make the performing arts institution a “very special and exciting place.” He also told reporters, “I want to make sure it runs properly. We don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center. Some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace that they were even put on. So I’ll be there until such time as it gets to be running right.”
His first steps included removing board members who were previously appointed by President Biden and replacing them with his own supporters, including Grenfell, who replaced former president Deborah F. Rutter. Historically, the Kennedy Center board has been made up of a bipartisan mix of individuals, but Trump installed a new board comprised entirely of his own appointees, including Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President J.D. Vance.
Almost immediately after Trump implemented these changes, artists began to disassociate themselves from the Kennedy Center in response. Issa Rae canceled an appearance, while Shonda Rhimes, Ben Folds, and Renee Fleming resigned from their roles within the organization. In March, Vance was booed while attending a concert there.
Additionally, the touring company of Hamilton canceled their previously announced 2026 stop at the Kennedy Center.
“We cannot presently support an institution,” said producer Jeffrey Seller, “that has been forced by external forces to betray its mission as a national cultural center that fosters the free expression of art in the United States of America.”
The show is about the attempted overthrow of a king, social inequity, the dignity of the poor, and moral justice defying corrupt arbiters of political justice.
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