“There’s no way I would set foot in it now.”

Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz is latest star to cancel Kennedy Center event over outrage at Trump takeover

"There's no way I would set foot in it now."

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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January 2, 2026 4:25 p.m. ET

'Wicked' composer Stephen Schwartz; Donald Trump. Credit:

Karwai Tang/WireImage; Taylor Hill/WireImage

- *Wicked* composer Stephen Schwartz has pulled out of a Kennedy Center event due to outrage at Donald Trump's takeover.

- Schwartz said in an email to *Newsday* that he would not "set foot in" the venue under Trump.

- A longtime Kennedy Center jazz performer canceled a Christmas concert for similar reasons.

Another artist has canceled a Kennedy Center appearance over outrage at President Donald Trump's takeover of the venue, with *Wicked* composer Stephen Schwartz backing out of a planned opera event.

As Trump continues to overhaul the Kennedy Center — a performing arts space and legally protected memorial constructed in honor of President John F. Kennedy — in his own name, Schwartz said Thursday in an email to *Newsday* that he'll no longer host the Washington National Opera Gala on May 16.

Schwartz told the outlet that the center "no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be," with his statement coming after Trump's team erected text bearing his name next to Kennedy's on the exterior of the Washington, D.C., structure.

Donald Trump's name on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty

"There's no way I would set foot in it now," Schwartz added.

Kennedy Center public relations official Roma Daravi said in a statement provided to ** on Friday that "Stephen Schwartz was never discussed nor confirmed and never had a contract by current Trump Kennedy Center leadership" to host the event.

Prior to that, however, EW reviewed a page on the Kennedy Center website touting an event titled "Washington National Opera Gala: Featuring Stephen Schwartz," which was set for May 16. Shortly after EW reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment, the event listing was altered to remove any mention of Schwartz.

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Christmas concert canceled over outrage at Donald Trump's Kennedy Center changes

EW has also reached out to representatives for Schwartz and the White House for comment.

Schwartz's email to *Newsday* came just over a week after musician Chuck Redd called off an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert that has occurred at the Kennedy Center for the last 20 years.

“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert," the drummer and vibraphonist behind the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam told the Associated Press.

Kennedy Center listing for Stephen Schwartz's Washington National Opera Gala event.

The Kennedy Center

Trump's move to rebrand the storied venue has drawn widespread backlash, including from Democratic Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who brought a lawsuit against the board of trustees over the development, as law prohibits them from turning the Kennedy Center into a memorial for anyone other than the late president, who was assassinated in 1963.

Kennedy's niece Kerry Kennedy has even said that she will work toward removing Trump's name from the building when he exits his second term as president.

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Another jazz group, the Cookers, also backed out of a slated New Year's Eve performance at the Kennedy Center in the wake of the Trump team's changes.

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