WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Kennedy Center on Friday fiercely criticized a musician's sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue after the White House announced that President Donald Trump's name would be added to the facility.
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center's recent renaming, which honors President Trump's extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue's president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with The Associated Press.
In the letter, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages “for this political stunt.”
Redd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A drummer and vibraphone player, Redd has presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts. In an email Wednesday to The Associated Press, Redd said he pulled out of the concert in the wake of the renaming.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd said.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him.
According to the White House, Trump's handpicked board approved the renaming, which scholars have said violates the law. Kennedy niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump’s name from the building once he leaves office, and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes would have to be approved by Congress.
The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.
Associated Press writer Hillel Italie in New York contributed to this report.
FILE - A memorial wreath stands next to the bronze memorial bust by Robert Berks of President John F. Kennedy in the grand foyer at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Nov. 22, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Workers add President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename the institution, in Washington, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love won’t play Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens a week after leaving a game with a concussion.
The Packers announced Friday that Love had been ruled out for Saturday’s game. Love had been listed as questionable Thursday on an injury report that referenced his concussion as well as an issue with his left shoulder.
This will be the first full game that Love has missed this season.
Love’s situation means both starting quarterbacks may miss the game on Saturday night. The Ravens have listed two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson as doubtful because of the back injury that knocked him out of a 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots last week.
Tyler Huntley, who took over for Jackson in the Patriots game, likely would start in Jackson’s place if needed. Green Bay’s backup quarterback is Malik Willis, who is questionable for Saturday’s game.
Love suffered the concussion when he absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chicago’s Austin Booker in the second quarter a 22-16 overtime loss to the Bears last week. Willis took over from there and hurt his right (throwing) shoulder while getting sacked on the final play of the fourth quarter, though he remained in the game for overtime.
Love had been a limited practice participant this week. Willis also practiced on a limited basis Tuesday and Thursday, though he didn’t practice Wednesday because of an illness. Willis started two games in place of an injured Love last season, and the Packers won both of them.
Green Bay’s only other quarterback is Clayton Tune, who was signed to the practice squad in late August. Tune has appeared in 13 games but has made just one career start, with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023.
The Packers (9-5-1) clinched a playoff spot Thursday when the Detroit Lions lost 23-10 at Minnesota, but they still have incentive to keep winning to try improving their seeding. They can win the NFC North if they win their last two games and Chicago drops its final two games.
Baltimore (7-8) can make the playoffs only if it wins Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers lose at Cleveland on Sunday and the Ravens win at Pittsburgh in Week 18.
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Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love warms up before an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love is hurt as he is hit by Chicago Bears' Austin Booker during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)
Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love scrambles during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
