A legal battle involving musician Chuck Redd has reached a resolution, as a D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit against him. The suit was filed after Redd canceled his Christmas Eve performance at the Kennedy Center to protest President Donald Trump’s influence on the venue.
The decision to dismiss the case came on Friday, based on Washington’s Anti-SLAPP laws. These laws aim to protect individuals from frivolous lawsuits that seek to suppress opposition, particularly on topics of public concern.
Chuck Redd, renowned for his skills on the drums and vibraphone, has an illustrious career touring with legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown. Redd had been a staple at the Kennedy Center’s holiday “Jazz Jams” since 2006. However, he withdrew from last year’s event following the decision by Trump’s appointees to add the president’s name to the Kennedy Center.
In response to the lawsuit, Lisa J. Banks, one of Redd’s attorneys, stated, “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.”
Expressing his relief, Redd conveyed to The Associated Press via email on Saturday morning that he is “very pleased with the judge’s ruling.”
The motion to dismiss, filed in March, argued that Redd wasn’t contractually obligated to perform. It included the contract provided by the Kennedy Center, which the artist never signed.
Representatives for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit’s dismissal.
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