Woke celebrities flee Kennedy Center roles after newly installed board ‘unanimously’ elects Trump as president

Donald Trump’s ‘unanimous’ election as the head of the Kennedy Center has led celebs to abandon ship and ditch their prestigious roles at the landmark cultural institution.  

Trump proceeded with an overhaul of the center on Wednesday after criticizing its former leadership, becoming chairman of the organization, and firing its president, Deborah Rutter.

The Kennedy Center said in a statement that its board of trustees, newly filled with appointees by Trump, had elected him chair and named Richard Grenell as interim president.

In a statement, Trump wrote: ‘It is a great honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!’ 

Trump replaces billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein as chair of the Kennedy Center, one of the leading arts organizations in the country that has enjoyed bipartisan support for years. 

Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton among many other hit series and served as Kennedy Center treasurer, has bailed after hearing the news. 

‘Please be advised that as of today, Shonda Rhimes has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center,’ she said in a statement.

Singer Ben Folds also put out a statement announcing he would no longer serve as an artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra.

‘Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic advisor to the NSO. Not for me,’ he said. 

Actress and opera singer Renee Flemming, an artistic advisor at large to the center, has also announced her departure. 

Flemming praised both Rubenstein and former President Deborah Rutter for their leadership. 

‘I’ve treasured the bi-partisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best. I hope the Kennedy Center continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country,’ she said. 

Grennell, a former ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, is also serving as an envoy for special missions in the president’s administration and helping lead its response to the California wildfires.

The move represents a swift takeover by Trump and his allies of a cultural institution in Washington that is known for its signature Kennedy Center Honors performances and is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.

Trump did not attend the Honors performances during his first term in office.

Rutter had previously announced her intent to step down at the end of this year. Rubenstein had planned to serve as chair through September 2026.

Meanwhile, liberal CNN contested the notion that Trump had been unanimously elected.

Jake Tapper was appearing on Anderson Cooper’s show Wednesday night and claimed the vote had not gone that simply.

‘There were some votes that were abstentions’ and ‘there were some votes against,’ the anchor said. 

However, Tapper admitted that results of the vote were ‘overwhelming’ in the president’s favor.

He also played a recording of Trump outlining his distaste for what the Kennedy Center had become and what he wants it to be.

‘I think we’re going to do something very special. It got very woke-y, and some people were not happy with it, and some people refused to go. And we’re not going to have that.’ 

Last week Trump, a Republican who in just over three weeks in office has sought to slash government jobs and close agencies including the Department of Education and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced his plans to target the Kennedy Center, too. 

In a social media post he lambasted it for for having held ‘Drag Shows.’ 

In his first term, from 2017 to 2021, the Republican regularly skipped the Kennedy Center’s yearly gala event because people slated to receive awards criticized him and said they would not show up if he did.

Trump on Friday lashed out at the institution, calling it too liberal and out of tune with American values.

That same day he fired the man serving as chairman, the billionaire Democratic philanthropist and Baltimore Orioles owner Rubenstein, and other members of the board of trustees.

New members of the board included singer Lee Greenwood, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, and Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance. 

The board now has 31 members. Appointees by former President Joe Biden, including former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, were dismissed. 

The center’s long-time president, Deborah Rutter, has been fired, the institution said.

Others within Rutter’s office were also let go, according to sources.