A D.C. Superior Court judge on Friday dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the Kennedy Center against musician Chuck Redd, ruling that the suit fell under the District of Columbia’s Anti-SLAPP statute. That law is designed to prevent meritless lawsuits intended to silence opposing viewpoints on matters of public interest.
Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with musicians including Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown, had presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He called off last year’s performance shortly after the venue’s board voted to add President Donald Trump’s name to the facility, which serves as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the Kennedy Center cannot refile the claim. The court’s ruling sided with Redd’s argument that the lawsuit was a strategic lawsuit against public participation — a SLAPP suit — aimed at chilling his speech.
“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,” Lisa J. Banks, one of Redd’s lawyers, said in a statement. “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.”
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The dismissal is the latest legal development in a series of disputes surrounding the Trump-appointed board’s management of the venue, which has faced multiple lawsuits over renovations, name changes, and personnel decisions.