Mobile native folk singer Kristy Lee claims she has canceled a performance at the Trump Kennedy Center after its renaming.
“I won’t lie to you, canceling shows hurts,” Lee posted on Instagram. “This is how I keep the lights on. But losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck.”
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board of trustees voted to rename the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” to honor Trump’s work.
"I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation," stated White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. "Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur."
However, Lee said she feels like history is “getting treated like something you can ban, erase, rename, or rebrand for somebody else’s ego.”
"As an artist, Kristy believes publicly funded cultural spaces must remain free from political capture, self-promotion, or ideological pressure," her media team stated. "Performing under these circumstances would conflict with the values of artistic freedom, public trust, and constitutional principles that the Kennedy Center was created to uphold."
Lee thanked fans for sending donations.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), filed a lawsuit against Trump in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the renaming. Beatty, who serves as an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center claims she was prevented from speaking at the meeting where the board voted for the renaming.
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