Judge orders Kennedy Center to pay $250,000 in legal fees to musician Chuck Redd
A Washington, D.C. federal judge ruled that the Kennedy Center must reimburse musician Chuck Redd for legal costs after the center’s lawsuit over his cancellation of a Christmas Eve concert was dismissed.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to pay musician Chuck Redd more than $250,000 in legal fees after the center’s lawsuit over his cancellation of a Christmas Eve concert was dismissed. Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier had thrown out the case in June, finding that the center’s actions constituted unlawful retaliation. In a Monday order, Bosier calculated that the Kennedy Center owes Redd $252,479.70, to be paid within 45 days, after excluding hours she deemed duplicative or unnecessary.
The Kennedy Center said it will appeal the decision. Redd’s attorney, Lisa J. Banks, said the center “tried to silence opposition to its illegal name change by filing a meritless lawsuit” and called the penalty “appropriate as no citizen should have to spend time and money fending off baseless and politically motivated lawsuits.”
Redd was scheduled to host the center’s annual free Christmas Eve Jazz Jam in December 2025 but withdrew after the center added President Donald Trump’s name to its façade. The name was later removed following a board member’s challenge. The center had accused Redd of violating a “morals clause” and claimed his cancellation caused lost goodwill, marketing expenses, and other costs. The center’s former president, Richard Grenell, initially threatened a $1 million lawsuit, later offering a $7,500 settlement, which Redd rejected, noting the concert was free and he had cancelled early enough for a replacement. The judge noted that the concert was ultimately canceled by multiple artists and that the center incurred no ticket-sale losses or staff costs, and that Redd was the only artist sued for speaking out.