Issa Rae has canceled her sold-out show at The Kennedy Center after Donald Trump was elected chairman.
“Thank you so much for selling out the Kennedy Center for An Evening with Issa Rae,” the Insecure creator and star said in a statement on her Instagram Stories. “Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums, I’ve decided to cancel my appearance at this venue.”
Rae assured fans who bought tickets to the event they would be refunded, adding, “Thank you so much for understanding, and I hope to see you soon.”
A page for Rae’s show on The Kennedy Center’s website now yields a 404 Error, meaning the page was deleted after the show’s cancellation.
Issa Rae’s statement about show cancellation (L) and The Kennedy Center website (R)
Instagram / ISSARAE
Rae’s cancellation of An Evening with Issa Rae comes after Shonda Rhimes resigned from her treasurer position at the Kennedy Center as fall out from Trump’s election from the board.
Rhimes had been appointed to the board by President Barack Obama and was serving as one of the officers.
Ben Folds also announced that he was resigning as artistic adviser of the National Symphony Orchestra, and Renée Fleming, who was serving as artistic adviser at large, also followed.
Trump ousted board members appointed by Joe Biden to the Kennedy Center board, which has a long tradition of bipartisan representation. With only Trump loyalists left on the board, his election as chairman was no surprise.
