The White House has announced that President Donald Trump and the first lady have decided not to participate in events honoring recipients of this year's Kennedy Center arts awards.
The announcement came after singer Lionel Richie, TV producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade said they planned to boycott the White House reception that is part of the celebration, reports The Washington Post.
Another nominee, rapper LL Cool J has not said if he would attend, but Gloria Estefan, a Cuban American singer, said she planned to attend so she could try to influence Trump about immigration issues.
The statement says the decision to break with tradition was made to "allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction."
Kennedy Center chairman David M. Rubenstein and president Deborah F. Rutter, in a statement on Saturday, said they were "grateful" that the spotlight would be on the honorees at this year's event, planned for Dec. 3.
In the past, presidents and first ladies have held a reception for the Kennedy Center honorees before the gala, and have sat with them during the national televised show.
That reception, during which the president traditionally offers remarks about the award recipients, also will not take place this year, the Kennedy Center reported, marking the first time since the awards began in 1978 that there will be no reception.
The Trumps' decision to stay away from the Kennedy Center events came after the full membership of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities resigned in protest over Trump's comments about the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In addition, the president's proposal to cut funding for the arts made it questionable if he'd be welcome at this year's awards.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.