Some cast members of the Kennedy Center performance of Les Misérables plan to skip the show on June 11 when President Donald Trump is in attendance, according to an exclusive CNN report.
According to CNN, at least 10 to 12 performers plan to sit out the June 11 show. The news outlet cites anonymous sources, and notes that the cast was given the option to not perform the night Trump will be in the audience. CNN says “both major cast members and members of the ensemble” are among those who won’t perform at the Washington, D.C., cultural institution.
Deadline has not confirmed CNN’s report. The Boublil & Schönberg musical, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, runs June 11 to July 13 at the Kennedy Center.
Trump angered many in the performing arts communities when, shortly after taking office, he ousted half of the Kennedy Center’s board members – many nominated by Joe Biden – and installed himself as chairman.
Since Trump took over, Shonda Rhimes has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center, and Issa Rae canceled a show scheduled for the venue. Meanwhile, Trump has faced backlash from supporters of the Kennedy Center’s cancelled touring children’s musical Finn, the Gay Men’s Chorus of DC and International Pride Orchestra over scrapped performances.
In March, producers of Hamilton, including the musical’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, canceled a planned 2026 engagement at the Kennedy Center, decrying the “recent purge by the Trump Administration” of the venue’s professional staff and center-produced events.
“Given these recent actions, our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center,” said producer Jeffrey Seller in a statement. “Therefore, we have cancelled the third engagement of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, originally scheduled for March 3-April 26, 2026.”
“I never liked Hamilton very much,” Trump later told reporters.
Trump has promised to make the Kennedy Center “GREAT AGAIN,” announcing his plan in February to remove those “who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
According to ABC News, Trump is expected to hold a fundraiser to benefit the Kennedy Center on the night of the Les Misérables performance.
