When Donald Trump visits the Kennedy Center next month for a performance of one of his favorite musicals he will not be met by the usual cast.
According to CNN, up to a dozen cast members from Les Misérables are planning to boycott Trump’s visit to the Kennedy Center next month for a fundraiser and a performance of the musical.
Les Misérables is set to run at the Kennedy Center through mid-July. The cast was reportedly given the option to not perform the night Trump will be in the audience, and between 10 and 12 performers decided not to do so.
Among those sitting out are both major cast members and members of the ensemble.
The boycott comes after Trump fired the previous board of the Kennedy Center, replaced them with sycophants, tapped longtime confidant Richard Grenell as director and installed himself as chairman, less than a month into his second term.
Since then, several artists including Issa Rae, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds have resigned from their leadership roles or canceled events at the center. High-profile shows like Hamilton have also scrapped planned performances at the venue.
Trump dismissed Hamilton cancellation at the time telling reporters, “I never liked Hamilton very much.”
But, the withdrawal of several Les Misérables cast members from their performance during Trump’s visit is likely to sting considering that the musical is one of his favorites and he was looking forward to seeing it performed at the Kennedy Center, according to the New York Times.
Trump kicked off a Kennedy Center board meeting in March by asking attendees: Which musical is better, Phantom of the Opera or Les Misérables?
“When you go to watch ‘Les Miz,’ when you go to watch ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ you know how great some of the talent is,” he said later in the meeting. “I’ve always said, no pop star has a voice like what you’re just hearing. I’ve always said they are, to me, the greatest talents. And that’s all they want to do. They don’t want to make movies. They don’t want to do anything. They just want to do eight shows a week, with a Wednesday matinee, right? And they’re tremendously talented people.”
Trump even used music from Les Misérables during his 2016 campaign rallies which earned him strong rebuke from co-creators of the musical at the time, according to the Guardian.
In a statement to CNN, Grenell said he was unaware that some Les Mis cast members planned to boycott the performance on the night of Trump’s appearance.
“Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed,” he said.
“In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire – and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience,” he continued. “The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together.”
