Kennedy Center interim president Richard Grenell made sure to invite a group of MAGA Republicans to musician Yasmin Williams’s performance a
Kennedy Center interim president Rick Grenell sent in a group of gay conservatives to heckle and harass a Black performer during her concert because she was a “liberal.”
Prominent fingerstyle guitarist Yasmin Williams performed at the Kennedy Center on September 18 at a concert she had committed to before the Trump administration’s culture war on the iconic theater.
Washingtonian reported that Kennedy Center workers learned that 50 seats at Williams’s show had been saved for the Log Cabin Republicans, a nonprofit group that seeks to simultaneously “support LGBT issues and conservative values.” The center increased security in the venue as about 20 men in MAGA hats took their seats.
“They said they were concerned for my safety,” Williams told Washingtonian. “There were about 20 guys in suits, and some of them were wearing MAGA hats.”
In their newsletter, the “Bi-Weekly,” Log Cabin Republicans president Andrew Manik told his group that Williams was a “vocal opponent of President Trump,” and ordered them to “make sure the audience is filled with Patriots.” The email also said that some attendees would get tickets for free drinks.
The concert seats were reserved for them by Grenell, multiple Kennedy Center employees said, and one of his staffers directed the Log Cabin Republicans to them when they arrived.
Nevertheless, Williams took the stage.
“I’ve been grappling with whether I should do this show for a while, and I’m here!” she said as she began to strum her guitar. “I decided to do this show to support the people … who made the Kennedy Center the prestigious place that it was. Sadly, I have to say ‘was,’ because of the hostile takeover from the Trump administration. It seems to have tarnished the reputation of this place.
“I don’t support the new board at all,” she continued. “Especially you, Rick Grenell, I am not a fan of yours at all.”
