Log Cabin Republicans heckled guitarist Yasmin Williams after her performance at the Kennedy Center. She said it’s because Ric Grenell, the President Donald Trump-tapped executive director, invited them to boo her politics.
“I’m certain that these folks have no interest in my music at all (or art itself), so why would they come?” Williams posted on Facebook. The answer became clear, she said, when she saw a weekly newsletter sent out by the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans. It showed the chapter’s monthly meeting had been moved to the rooftop terrace of the Kennedy Center. It mentioned a “special performance” at the Hall of States.
“The artist, liberal guitarist Yasmin Williams, will be giving a free performance prior to the meeting,” the newsletter states. “She is apparently a vocal critic of President Trump and The Kennedy Center’s decision to hold a vigil for Charlie Kirk. Let’s make sure the audience is filled with patriots.”
There are no comments about Turning Point USA founder Kirk’s September 10 death visible on Williams’ social media. She told The Washington Post she shared a post about a vigil being held at the Kennedy Center for Kirk, but offered no commentary.
She addressed some controversy among her own fans earlier this September on why she would even perform at the Kennedy Center under Grenell’s tenure and said she wanted to support the union workers still working at the venue and “fighting to maintain the institution’s integrity. She addressed that at the close of her show from the stage before having to be escorted out by security.
She said Grenell set aside 50 tickets for people to boo the show, but her supporters outnumbered critics at the show. She was particularly struck by the Log Cabin Republicans' email, which promoted an open bar to attract hecklers.
“The staff who were working my show had no idea of this until right before the show started,” she wrote. “This is why I had to get escorted out of the building by several security guards. This is clearly a calculated attempt to intimidate and harass me at my own show, as well as the staff working the show. This is completely unacceptable and I will not allow this to go unnoticed. I will not be harassed and intimidated by anyone, especially these folks.”