(mediaite.com)

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An annual Christmas Eve jazz concert held at the Kennedy Center was canceled on Wednesday after its host learned of the recent addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the building.
Chuck Redd, the musician who has hosted the “Jazz Jams” show since 2006, said he made the decision to call off the concert last Friday after the addition of Trump’s name was announced.
“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 told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday.
The holiday concert has been held annually for over twenty years.
The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts voted to rename the building last Thursday. Trump appointed himself as chair the board for the Kennedy Center shortly after taking office in January, adding several of his allies to the board as well.
The name change sparked swift outrage from members of the Kennedy family and other critics of the president– outrage that was exacerbated by the speed with which Trump’s name was added to the building’s wall.
After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the board had “voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center,” Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) rebuked her in a tweet, saying she had been “muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move,” and noted the name change had not been on the agenda.
Beatty then sued the president and her fellow Kennedy Center board members the following Monday.
“Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center,” said Beatty in a press release. “President Trump and his cronies must not be allowed to trample federal law and bypass Congress to feed his ego. This entire process has been a complete disgrace to this cherished institution and the people it serves. These unlawful actions must be blocked before any further damage is done.”
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to news outlets seeking comment. The center’s website lists the show as canceled.