Ben Folds, Shonda Rhimes resign from Kennedy Center after Trump takeover

Notable among the departures: Musician Ben Folds, who’d been serving as an artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, and who announced his resignation on Instagram with a “Not for me.” See also TV hitmaker Shonda Rhimes, who’d been serving as treasurer for the organization’s board, and who has now departed the Trump-led arts organization. Actor and singer Renée Fleming, a Kennedy Center honoree who has been artistic adviser, at large, also resigned, citing the decision to oust both previous chairman David M. Rubenstein and Center President Deborah Rutter, who handled the organization’s day-to-day affairs. That job has now been filled by long-time Trump loyalist Ric Grenell, memorable for a turn as Trump’s previous ambassador to Germany where he mostly just pissed off a bunch of Germans.

The Kennedy Center holds more than 2,000 annual events in its various performance spaces, serving as a major showcase for the performing arts. It also sets, for lack of a better term, the artistic “tone” of the nation, throwing weight behind artistic endeavors both through direct actions like arts programs, and by dint of which works and artists it chooses to platform. Given that Trump announced his takeover by posting what Time says was an AI-generated picture of himself conducting an orchestra, we’re going to go ahead and assume the “American arts,” as a concept, should probably strap in; it’s going to get a lot bleaker before it gets any better here.

[via Deadline]