‘Hamilton’ Cancels Kennedy Center Show After Trump Shakeup, Ric Grenell Fires Back: ‘Publicity Stunt’

The popular musical Hamilton will be canceling its show at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center following the Trump administration’s shakeup of the current staff.

As Breitbart News reported last month, President Trump was made chairman of the center following the firing of President Deborah Rutter. In turn, Trump aide and former ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell was named interim president while Trump replaced outgoing chair David Rubenstein. As a result of the shakeup, several stars, including superstar soprano Renée Fleming, announced they would be cutting ties with the Kennedy Center.

“I’ve treasured the bipartisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best,” Fleming said in a statement at the time. “I hope the Kennedy Center continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country.”

On Wednesday, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, a proponent of left-wing causes, and lead producer Jeffrey Seller said in a joint interview with the New York Times that they believe the Trump administration has moved the Kennedy Center away from its bipartisan routes. The musical had been scheduled to take part in the Kennedy Center’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

“This latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it,” Lin-Manuel Miranda said. “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We’re just not going to be part of it.”

Seller added that the creative team behind Hamilton felt that Trump “took away our national arts center for all of us.”

“It became untenable for us to participate in an organization that had become so deeply politicized,” he said. “The Kennedy Center is for all of us, and it pains me deeply that they took it over and changed that. They said it’s not for all of us. It’s just for Donald Trump and his crowd. So we made a decision we can’t do it.”

It should be noted that the Hamilton show on Broadway previously engaged in divisive politics by having its cast members lecture former Vice President Mike Pence when he attended in 2016 after he and Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College.

“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who played Aaron Burr, said from the stage at the time. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf all of us.”

In response to the cancelation, interim Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell accused Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller of engaging in a “publicity stunt that will backfire,” adding that they simply “can’t be in the same room with Republicans.”

“Let’s be clear on the facts. Seller and [Lin-Manuel] first went to the New York Times before they came to the Kennedy Center with their announcement that they can’t be in the same room with Republicans. This is a publicity stunt that will backfire. The Arts are for everyone – not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with. The American people need to know that [Miranda] is intolerant of people who don’t agree with him politically. It’s clear he and Sellers don’t want Republicans going to their shows. Americans see you, Lin,” said Grenell.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.