Stephen Schwartz Withdraws from Kennedy Center Engagement Over Trump Name Change

Mon Jan 05 2026 12:31:09 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The composer of 'Wicked' has announced he will not perform at the Kennedy Center following the controversial decision to rename the venue after Donald Trump. This marks a growing trend of artists cancelling appearances due to political affiliations.

Composer Stephen Schwartz has declined to perform at the Kennedy Center due to its decision to incorporate former President Donald Trump's name into the venue's title. Schwartz stated that this change has politicized the institution, making his participation an ideological statement. The center's president, Richard Grenell, disputed Schwartz’s claims, stating he was never contracted to perform. Schwartz joins a list of artists who have withdrawn from the Kennedy Center, which has faced backlash following the name change.

The composer of the musical Wicked, Stephen Schwartz, has publicly announced that he will no longer appear at the Kennedy Center following the board's controversial decision to include former President Donald Trump's name in the venue's title.

In a statement, Schwartz expressed that participating in events at the center has now become an ideological statement, which he cannot support. 'As long as that remains the case, I will not appear there,' he said.

Despite Schwartz's withdrawal, Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell asserted on social media that reports of Schwartz pulling out of a gala scheduled for May were misleading, claiming the composer had never been contracted to perform.

Schwartz mentioned that he was initially approached by the artistic director of the Washington National Opera about participating in the May event. However, after little communication over the past year, he assumed the event was no longer happening until contacted by a reporter regarding his inclusion in the gala.

The Kennedy Center's history has been steeped in promoting free artistic expression, yet Schwartz believes it has veered from its apolitical roots. He stated, 'The Kennedy Center was founded to be an apolitical home for free artistic expression for artists of all nationalities and ideologies. It is no longer apolitical.'

Other artists have also canceled their appearances at the Kennedy Center as a result of this name change. This includes the Cookers, a jazz band, and Doug Varone and Dancers, both citing their refusal to associate with what they perceive to be a politicization of the cultural institution.

Grenell characterized these cancellations as a 'form of derangement syndrome.' The new name, the Donald J Trump and John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, was enacted after a board vote in December, leading to significant backlash from both lawmakers and members of the Kennedy family who argue that such a renaming infringes on a memorial established by federal law shortly after President Kennedy's assassination.

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