Barbra Streisand Slams Trump's Kennedy Center Name Fight

Barbra Streisand has publicly denounced former President Donald Trump's efforts to rename the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In a statement posted on her official website on Thursday, the singer and actress called the political struggle over the institution's name 'galling and painful to witness.'

Streisand's remarks follow a district judge's order that the Kennedy Center must give at least 30 days' notice before any demolition or new construction. This order came after Trump threatened the arts institution could 'end up being ripped down' without his support. The Trump administration has been engaged in a legal battle to rename the venue the 'Trump-Kennedy Center,' aiming to add his name to the building's exterior.

The History of the Honor

Streisand was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2008. She stated that the honor represented a belief in the importance of art to democracy. 'For me, and for so many artists, that honor represented something larger than a career recognition,' she wrote. The center was originally named in 1964 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination. Streisand noted that Kennedy was 'a true champion of the arts.'

The Legal and Political Battle

A federal judge initially ruled that the Kennedy Center's name could not be changed without an act of Congress, leading to Trump's name being removed from the façade. 'Yet the fight continued,' Streisand wrote. After the removal, she claims a 'humiliated Trump ordered a large tarp placed over the façade, where it remains today.' The statement says a Trump-aligned board then lobbied to add his name again, prompting another federal ruling that blocked the effort.

Streisand connects this fight to the center's current closure. 'And now, a thoroughly defeated Trump has announced that the Kennedy Center is being closed for what the completely stacked board describes as a major renovation,' she continued. She finds it odd that 'when Trump’s name was still on the building, there was no discussion of closing it!'

The Core Principle for Artists

For Streisand, the conflict undermines the center's fundamental purpose. She expressed indignation 'at seeing this revered institution become the subject of such a bitter struggle over one man’s name and unchecked ego.' She reflected on what President Kennedy would have wanted for the center: 'not a monument frozen in time, but a living place where artists could challenge, inspire, provoke, and bring Americans together.'

The artist concluded her statement by linking the center's fate to civic engagement, writing it is 'so important that Americans exercise their right to vote in the upcoming midterm elections!' Alongside her statement, Streisand posted archival photos, including one of her with Morgan Freeman at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony. She also taped her 'Funny Girl to Funny Lady' TV special at the venue in 1975.