Judge Dismisses Center Lawsuit Against Drummer Redd

A Washington, D.C., judge has dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts against jazz drummer Chuck Redd, who canceled a Christmas Eve performance in protest of the venue’s renaming for former President Donald Trump. The ruling, issued Friday by D.C. Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier, found that the Kennedy Center failed to prove a legally binding agreement existed with the musician.

Redd, who had hosted the center’s annual free Christmas Eve Jazz Jam since 2006, withdrew from the 2025 event after Trump’s name was added to the building’s facade and website. The Kennedy Center, then led by President Richard Grenell, subsequently sought $1 million in damages. According to court records, Grenell informed Redd in a letter that the center would pursue damages for what he termed a political stunt. The center later offered a $7,500 settlement contingent on Redd performing and abandoning all political commentary.

Judge Bosier dismissed the case under the district’s anti-SLAPP statute, a law designed to block lawsuits aimed at silencing public participation. The judge noted there was no dispute that Redd did not sign a...