Overview
- Five Democratic senators—including John Hickenlooper, Tammy Baldwin, Jacky Rosen, Brian Schatz and Elizabeth Warren—organized the invitation-only “Love is Love” concert Monday to push back against Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center.
- The concert was produced by Hamilton’s Jeffrey Seller and featured Broadway artists alongside the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. in a 90-minute “guerrilla theater” performance.
- Trump installed himself as chairman in February after dismissing the center’s trustees and criticized LGBTQ+ programming as inappropriate for youth.
- Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell said the venue remains open to all artists and accused boycotting performers of “cosplaying as victims of intolerance.”
- Previous artist withdrawals, including Lin-Manuel Miranda’s and Seller’s cancellation of a planned 2026 Hamilton run, have highlighted ongoing disputes over the institution’s cultural direction.