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Broadway Icon Calls for Destruction of Trump-Led Kennedy Center

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Patti Lupone
Photo Credit: "Etro 555" by The Drama League is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Broadway icon Patti LuPone stirred controversy this week with incendiary remarks aimed at President Donald Trump and his overhaul of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In an interview published Monday, the actress declared that the institution “should get blown up” following Trump’s restructuring of its leadership.

Trump made sweeping changes to the Kennedy Center’s board in February. He dismissed several members, including the sitting president and chairman, and replaced them with allies aligned with his vision. The new board promptly appointed Trump as chairman.

On Truth Social, the president defended the shake-up, stating that his goal was to “make the performing arts center great again” by eliminating board members who resisted his “vision for a Golden Age in arts and culture.”

Trump cited drag shows “targeting” children as one example of what he considered inappropriate programming that would be discontinued under his leadership.

These moves triggered a wave of resignations and backlash from several prominent entertainers involved in the organization.

Shonda Rhimes, best known for Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton, stepped down from her role as Kennedy Center treasurer.


“Please be advised that as of today, Shonda Rhimes has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center,” she announced in a statement.

Singer Ben Folds also cut ties with the institution, saying, “Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic advisor to the NSO. Not for me.”

Actress Issa Rae pulled out of a previously scheduled one-night event at the venue.

“Thank you so much for selling out the Kennedy Center for ‘An Evening with Issa Rae,’” she wrote in an Instagram Story.

“Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums, I’ve decided to cancel my appearance at this venue.”

LuPone, however, went a step further than resignation or boycott. In her conversation with New Yorker writer Michael Schulman, she repeatedly declared that the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center “should get blown up.”

Schulman noted, “She’s even angrier at the rest of the country. She told me, more than once, that the Trumpified Kennedy Center ‘should get blown up.’”

The 76-year-old also lamented what she described as federal overreach into the cultural stronghold of New York.

“Leave New York alone,” she said. “Make it its own country. I mean, is there any other city in America that’s as diverse, as in-your-face? It’s a live-or-die city, it really is. Stick it out or leave.”

LuPone has long been a vocal opponent of President Trump. At the 2017 Tony Awards, she infamously stated she would not perform for Trump, saying, “because I hate the mother—.”

Before the 2020 election, she floated the idea of relocating to Ireland if he were to win.

“This country is doomed,” LuPone told Variety. “I think it is a failed experiment. I don’t see us pulling ourselves out of this.”

At the time, she believed that the country would “either fascism or dictatorship” under Trump.

“I think Trump will win a second term, and I think I’ll move to Ireland,” she told the outlet.

Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell condemned LuPone’s rhetoric in a statement to Fox News.

“The far left has morphed into violent extremists. This is completely unacceptable – from the same people who claim to be for tolerance and diversity. Everyone should condemn these radicals,” he said.

Grenell, who assumed leadership following Debra Rutter’s removal, has since alleged financial mismanagement under the previous administration.

He informed the board that his team had “found $26 million in phantom revenue, fake revenue.”

“It’s criminal,” Grenell asserted, noting plans to refer the matter to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Rutter, however, pushed back on the accusation, stating that her annual budgets were properly reviewed and approved by the board.

President Trump was similarly blunt in his criticism of past management.

Addressing the new board members, he accused the previous board of spending “tremendous amounts of money.”

“I don’t know where they spent it. They certainly didn’t spend it on wallpaper, carpet or painting,” he sarcastically added.

Reports indicated Trump criticized the prior programming as being filled with “rampant political propaganda,” listing performances like a “Marxist anti-police performance” and “Lesbian-only Shakespeare” as examples.

Looking ahead, Grenell outlined the new direction for the Trump-era Kennedy Center.

“We have to do the big productions that the masses and the public want to see, we want to have really good programming,” he stated.

As part of the shift, he teased a major December performance, saying, “So the first thing that we’re doing … you’ve got to be at the Kennedy Center in December, because we are doing a big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.”

“How crazy is it to think that we’re going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ,” he added.

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