Who gets Kennedy Center Honors under Trump? George Strait, Kiss, Michael Crawford being eyed

Washington Post

2 days ago

Of the more than 2,000 events that take place each year at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, one looms above all the others: the Kennedy Center Honors. One of the center's largest fundraisers, the annual black-tie gala and television broadcast is a magnet for A-listers and prominent Washingtonians. Earning the honors can be a major career highlight.
Since taking over the Kennedy Center in February, President Donald Trump has vowed to put his mark on the Honors — and changes are underway.
The Kennedy Center has seriously considered several names to receive this year's Honors, including country music legend George Strait, glam-metal icons Kiss and the English actor Michael Crawford, according to several current and former employees with knowledge of the center's plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
The picks have to agree to receive the prize, and it was unclear which, if any, of these names had made the final list. But on Tuesday the Kennedy Center offered some clues in an Instagram caption: 'a country music icon, an Englishman, a New York City Rock band, a dance Queen and a multi-billion dollar Actor walk into the Kennedy Center Opera House….'
Trump plans to announce the picks at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, he wrote: 'GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS. They will be announced Wednesday. Tremendous work is being done, and money being spent, on bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment. It had fallen on hard times, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!! President DJT.'
Many Kennedy Center staffers were caught off-guard by Trump's unexpected announcement that he would reveal the honorees on Wednesday.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon, nor did representatives for Strait, Kiss and Crawford.
Each year, five individuals or groups are honored by the Kennedy Center and government officials for their lifelong contributions to the arts in a multiday event that concludes with a ceremony where fellow artists toast them with speeches, songs, videos and performances. Last year's honorees included Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt and the Grateful Dead. The show is later broadcast on CBS.
In past years, a committee that includes previous honorees and prominent members of the arts community selected recipients in May or early June and publicly announced them in mid-July. Taking issue with the Honors, Trump said at a Kennedy Center board meeting in March, 'We'll go slightly more conservative, if you don't mind, with some of the people. There are people out there that would not be considered that are much bigger stars than the ones that were being honored.' It is unclear who was tasked with selecting this year's honorees.
The list of potential honorees wouldn't feel out of place at many Honors, which have spotlighted luminaries across artistic disciplines. Strait, for example, would not be the first country star to receive the honors, nor Kiss the first '70s rock band. At the same time, Trump is known to be a fan of the musical 'The Phantom of Opera,' the title role of which was originated by Crawford.
During the board meeting in March, Trump suggested that the center widen the field of potential honorees to both nonartists and deceased icons. He floated Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth and suggested expanding the honors to include politicians, executives and athletes.
Trump also railed against previous Kennedy Center Honors during the meeting, saying, 'In the past, I mean, these are radical left lunatics that have been chosen. I didn't like it. I couldn't watch it. And the host was always terrible.'
Beyond the talent, some changes appear to be in store.
The weekend usually consists of a medallion ceremony with a dinner at the State Department, a reception at the White House and the Honors gala itself. This year, the medallion ceremony, usually presided over by the secretary of state, may be moved to the White House, according to one staffer with knowledge of the center's plans.
The medallions themselves may look different, as the center has contacted the jeweler Tiffany & Co. to redesign them. The most recent design of the medal depicted President Kennedy on one side and the building on the other, with a rainbow-colored ribbon meant to represent different artistic skills and talents. Tiffany did not respond to a request for comment.
Done+Dusted, the production company that produced the last several Kennedy Center Honors (as well as recent Mark Twain Prizes for American Humor, the center's other big televised event) has severed ties with the center. Matthew Winer, the center's internal executive producer of the Honors, has resigned from the center along with Emeline Carlisle, the producer and honoree manager.
The Kennedy Center's contract with CBS to broadcast the Honors expires after this year.
Ever since the Kennedy Center began awarding Honors in 1978, only one president went an entire term without attending the ceremony: Trump. He initially pulled out of participating in 2017 after Norman Lear, who was receiving the accolade, vowed to skip the portion that takes place at the White House to protest Trump.
Many Kennedy Center staff members speculate that it was this slight that motivated Trump to take over the center in his second term after previously not showing much interest in it. The Kennedy Center is independent of the federal government, although it is partially funded by taxpayers and the president appoints much of its board of trustees. In February, Trump fired trustees who had been appointed by President Joe Biden and replaced them with his own picks.
This year will mark the first Honors that Trump has participated in. Will the new Kennedy Center leadership be up to the task?
The first test came in late March, a little more than a month after Trump's takeover, when Conan O'Brien received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — after being offered it by the previous leadership. During his speech, O'Brien specifically thanked 'the people who invited me here,' naming former chairman David Rubenstein and former president Deborah Rutter, both of whom were ousted in February.
The show itself proceeded as usual, though nearly every performer made jabs at the center's new leadership. Will Ferrell joked, 'I'm supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education.' John Mulaney said the Kennedy Center would be renamed the 'Roy Cohn Pavilion of Big Strong Men who Love 'Cats.'' Sarah Silverman addressed O'Brien: 'I really miss the days when you were America's only orange a--hole.'
The Twain is a big deal, but it's small compared to the Honors. And the current management may be less willing to let the people onstage take potshots at the new board chair.
One person with extensive knowledge of how the Honors operates, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, called it a 'a massive exercise' that 'requires massive buy-in from the performing arts community.' The person stressed the unusual challenge the Honors' organizers will face this year.
It doesn't just require five worthy acts to agree to appear, but many more stars, who pay tribute to the honorees during long segments. Last year, the two-and-a-half-hour show featured more than 70 performers, including Queen Latifah, David Letterman, Robert De Niro, Dave Chappelle, Sheryl Crow, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese.
The current mood surrounding the Kennedy Center might complicate assembling such a production. Is it still possible to put on a show with so many artists — including the folks behind 'Hamilton,' who previously received the Honors, and stars like Issa Rae — boycotting the center? Trump is now closely associated with the Kennedy Center, so potential performers might weigh their desire to appear there against the president's policies and statements. With his statement about the 'TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER' on Tuesday, Trump encouraged this connection, as have Republicans in Congress, who have proposed renaming the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump and, in the case of Rep. Bob Onder (R-Missouri), the entire arts center after the president.
'It seems to me that its credibility amongst the performing arts community is definitely much more controversial than it has been in previous years, and I'm really nervous about what the process of both selecting nominees and booking the show will be,' the person familiar with Honors' operations said.
'It's much bigger than getting five people to accept the honor,' this person said. It's about getting another 80 or so to honor them.