Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center‘s interim director appointed by President Donald Trump, is blasting what he calls politically intolerant entertainers who won’t perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. due to Donald Trump’s newfound involvement with the venerable arts institution.
Grenell was most recently angered by yesterday’s exclusive CNN news report about a group of performers, numbering roughly a dozen, of the touring production of the musical Les Misérables when Trump attends a June 11 performance.
In a statement originally provided to Entertainment Weekly and then retweeted on Grenell’s X account, the special envoy seemed to be suggesting the creation of some sort of a Black List. He wrote last night, “Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed. In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.”
Grenell also said cryptically that “the Kennedy Center will no longer fund intolerance.”
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The Les Miz situation marked the second time this week when Grenell spoke out about artists and their political affiliations. On Monday, Grenell posted an X message calling out ABC’s American Idol for hiring musical theater great Lin-Manuel Miranda as a guest mentor for next week’s two-episode Disney Night event (airing Sunday, May 11, and Monday, May 12).
In March, producers of Hamilton, including the hit musical’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, canceled a planned 2026 engagement at the Kennedy Center, decrying the “recent purge by the Trump Administration” of the venue’s professional staff and center-produced events.
“Given these recent actions, our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center,” said producer Jeffrey Seller in a statement. “Therefore, we have cancelled the third engagement of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, originally scheduled for March 3-April 26, 2026.”
“Shame on you, @AmericanIdol,” Grenell tweeted. “Inviting @Lin_Manuel to be a mentor to young people 3 weeks after Lin pulled his show from the Kennedy Center because he can’t work with Republicans is an obvious move to support political intolerance. We need performers who perform for everyone. Not radicals who litmus test the audience’s voting history. Dumb move, @abc.” Grenell tagged FCC chief Brendan Carr in the message.
Neither Miranda nor the show’s other producers ever said they wouldn’t perform for Republicans. They objected to Trump’s specific actions at the Kennedy Center.
Deadline has reached out to Les Miz producer Cameron Mackintosh as well as ABC and Miranda. We’ll update this post if we hear back.
Trump angered many in the performing arts communities when, shortly after taking office, he ousted half of the Kennedy Center’s board members – many nominated by Joe Biden – and installed himself as chairman. In March, Trump griped that some shows at the Kennedy Center “got very tired. Very boring. Very radical left.” The month prior, he posted on social media that he would make the Kennedy Center “GREAT AGAIN,” announcing his plan in February to remove those from the board “who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
Since Trump took over, Shonda Rhimes has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center, and Issa Rae canceled a show scheduled for the venue. Meanwhile, Trump has faced backlash from supporters of the Kennedy Center’s cancelled touring children’s musical Finn, the Gay Men’s Chorus of DC and International Pride Orchestra over scrapped performances.
According to ABC News, Trump is expected to hold a fundraiser to benefit the Kennedy Center on the night of the Les Misérables performance.