Some ‘Les Mis’ cast members plan to boycott Trump’s attendance at Kennedy Center performance next month
When Trump descends on the Kennedy Performing Arts Center next month for a high-dollar fundraiser and a performance of “Les Misérables,” he won’t be seeing the usual cast performing, sources told CNN.
At least 10 to 12 performers in Les Mis are planning to sit out the show on June 11, the night that Trump attends at the Kennedy Center, the sources said. The cast was given the option to not perform the night Trump will be in the audience, and both major cast members and members of the ensemble are among those sitting out, according to the sources.
The move highlights friction between the Trump administration and members within the center as the president has made an aggressive push to reshape it, thrusting the Washington, DC-based performing arts complex into the middle of culture wars.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 8, 2025 1:58 PM
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In a statement to CNN, Grennell, who identified himself as president of the Kennedy Center, said he was unaware that some cast members planned to boycott the performance on the night of Trump’s appearance and that 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,” said Grennell. “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. 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.”
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 8, 2025 3:06 AM
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Hopefully this makes him resign.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 8, 2025 3:56 AM
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Trump is cutting funding to the arts. Why should they perform for him. That toady who runs the Kennedy Center can go fuck himself.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 8, 2025 3:59 AM
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Rump fired the bi-partisan KC Board members and replaced them with Republican apparatchiks like Grennell.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 8, 2025 4:53 AM
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[quote]“Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed,” said Grennell. “In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists..."
I hope they do. The public will want to applaud them.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | May 8, 2025 1:39 PM
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It's these small acts of defiance against a Nazi regime that are important.
History will remember those who didn't capitulate.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | May 8, 2025 1:52 PM
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Just like it remembers those who were blacklisted in the McCarthy era.
(If only anyone under 30 knew any history...)
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 8, 2025 1:58 PM
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