Overview
- The board approved the name change on Dec. 18, and the center updated its website within hours and installed new signage the next day.
- The Cookers withdrew from New Year’s Eve concerts, Doug Varone and Dancers canceled April 2026 dates, and folk singer Kristy Lee scrapped a Jan. 14 show.
- Center president Richard Grenell dismissed the withdrawals as political, publicly criticized the artists, and is seeking $1 million in damages from musician Chuck Redd over his Christmas Eve cancellation.
- Under the new leadership, drag and LGBT+-focused programs have been removed while religious-right conferences and Christian artists have been added, according to press reports.
- Rep. Joyce Beatty has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the renaming and members of the Kennedy family have objected, citing the venue’s status as a federally established memorial.