The Kennedy Center must pay $250,000 in legal fees to jazz musician Chuck Redd, who canceled his annual Christmas Eve performance there to protest former President Trump's name being added to the complex. A superior court judge dismissed the Kennedy Center's lawsuit against Redd in June, and now the organization is liable for his legal costs.
Redd had backed out of his yearly holiday gig after the Trump name was placed on the building. The Kennedy Center then sued him over the cancellation. The judge's ruling in June threw out the suit, and the fee award follows that decision.
The exact details of the legal fee payment were confirmed in court documents. The Kennedy Center, a national performing arts venue, must cover the full $250,000 amount. Redd, a well-known jazz musician, had performed at the center for years before the protest cancellation.
Neither Redd nor the Kennedy Center has publicly commented on the payment. The case highlights the ongoing tension between the arts community and the political changes at the institution. The fee award is a final resolution of the dispute, which began with Redd's protest over the Trump name.