On Friday, a lawsuit was dismissed under Washington’s Anti-SLAPP laws, which aim to block baseless lawsuits that seek to suppress differing viewpoints on public issues.
Chuck Redd, a drummer and vibraphonist who has performed with legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown, has led the Kennedy Center’s holiday “Jazz Jams” since 2006. He canceled last year’s event after a board selected by Trump decided to add the president’s name to the venue.
In a statement, Lisa J. Banks, one of Redd’s attorneys, explained, “The Center sued Mr. Redd because he publicly and rightly objected to adding Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy. The lawsuit against Mr. Redd was political retribution, pure and simple, by the Trump Kennedy Center, and the Court correctly saw it as such in dismissing the case with prejudice.”
Redd expressed his satisfaction with the judge’s decision in an email to The Associated Press, stating he is “very pleased with the judge’s ruling.”
The motion to dismiss, which was filed in March, contended that Redd was not contractually bound to perform, highlighting that he never signed the contract provided by the Kennedy Center.
The Kennedy Center’s representatives have yet to comment on the dismissal of the lawsuit.
