Chuck Redd, the veteran drummer and vibraphonist who ran the Kennedy Center’s Christmas Eve Jazz Jam for nearly twenty years, is asking a D.C. judge to throw out the venue’s breach-of-contract lawsuit after he canceled the show in protest of the center’s renaming. His attorneys say this fight is about principle, not a payout, and argue the case is meant to send a warning shot to artists who speak out.
In a motion filed in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, Redd’s lawyers argue the Kennedy Center’s suit should be dismissed because he never signed the contract the center provided and because the free, ticketless event could not have caused real economic harm. Redd has led the holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, and his team says the filing frames the center’s legal move as a message to other performers. The motion attached the unsigned contract, according to AP News.
Motion Includes Redd’s Dec. 19 Email
Redd’s lawyers say the motion includes an email he sent to the center on Dec. 19, 2025, the day signage bearing President Trump’s name appeared, with the subject line “No choice but to cancel December 24th.” In that message, Redd wrote, “I would feel profoundly uncomfortable playing there as long as it has the added name,” language his attorneys submitted with the filing, according to NBC4 Washington.
Richard Grenell, who led the center after the board voted to add the president’s name, publicly rebuked Redd and warned that the institution would seek roughly $1 million in damages. The Kennedy Center later sued for breach of contract, a move that has sparked public criticism and further litigation, as detailed by The Washington Post.
Lawyers and Lawmakers Push Back
Redd’s legal team, which includes civil-rights attorneys, argues that he never signed the contract and that a free Millennium Stage performance could not have produced the kind of financial damage the center is claiming. “He has strong feelings about what he views as an illegal name change,” attorney Lisa Banks said, adding that the motion seeks dismissal because there was no contract and no monetary loss. Rep. Jamie Raskin also blasted the lawsuit as “utterly bogus,” according to NBC4 Washington.
The dispute is unfolding against a broader backdrop of artists and advisers walking away from the institution and repeated protests outside the building after the name change, with organizers and performers openly criticizing the new leadership. Reporting has highlighted canceled engagements and steep drops in ticket sales as the center prepares for a planned renovation closure, according to KPBS.
The motion now sits before a D.C. Superior Court judge. If the judge grants dismissal, it would undercut the Kennedy Center’s claim that Redd violated an enforceable contract. For now, the case piles one more legal and public-relations problem onto an institution already wrestling with protests, high-profile departures and an uncertain financial outlook.
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