Anti-SLAPP Ruling Turns Kennedy Center's $1 Million Chuck Redd Lawsuit Into Free Speech Flashpoint

The Kennedy Center’s $1 million lawsuit against jazz drummer and vibes player Chuck Redd was recently dismissed, ending a legal battle that began after Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance following the announcement that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the performing arts venue.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Tanya Jones Bosier dismissed the breach of contract case on June 5 after finding that Kennedy Center officials had failed to show they had a legally binding agreement with Redd to perform.

Redd had been scheduled for the Kennedy Center’s annual, free “Christmas Eve Jazz Jam,” but pulled out after the White House announced Trump’s name would be added to the facility. Another judge later ordered Trump’s name removed from the Kennedy Center’s facade and website, ruling that the venue, designated by Congress as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, could not be renamed without an act of Congress.

Richard Grenell, then the Kennedy Center’s president, threatened legal action after Redd withdrew, saying the center would seek $1 million in damages for what he called “this political stunt.”

The center filed suit in March and offered to settle if Redd paid $7,500, performed at this year’s concert and refrained from issuing “political commentary” about his decision.

The judge granted Redd’s motion to dismiss under D.C.’s anti-SLAPP law, which is designed to stop lawsuits aimed at silencing speech on matters of public interest. Anti-SLAPP laws have been passed in 40 states, as well, to provide free speech protections and prevent abuse of the court system.

Haynes Boone Partner Laura Prather, chair of the firm’s Media Law Practice Group and a leading voice on anti-SLAPP law, said the ruling shows why those protections matter.

“These laws are intended to weed out meritless cases that target the exercise of First Amendment rights,” she explained. “Here, Mr. Redd — who had no contract with the Kennedy Center — opted not to perform. For that choice, he was sued for breach of a nonexistent contract.”

The proposed settlement terms prohibiting “political commentary” further cemented the chilling nature of the lawsuit.

“The D.C. Anti-SLAPP law enabled the Court to ferret out this meritless case in just three months and award fees to Mr. Redd who should have never been sued in the first place,” added Prather, who was not involved in Redd’s case.

Redd told the Associated Press he was “very pleased” by the ruling. One of his attorneys, Lisa J Banks, called the lawsuit “political retribution, pure and simple.”