A US court has dismissed a lawsuit linked to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after jazz musician Chuck Redd canceled a planned Christmas Eve performance. The case came after a public dispute over political naming changes at the venue. Redd, a well-known jazz drummer and vibraphone player, withdrew from the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam after reports that the White House had announced plans to add the name of Donald Trump to the center. His decision quickly turned into a legal fight when the Kennedy Center claimed he broke a performance agreement. Redd’s legal team argued that no signed contract existed for the 2025 event. A Washington DC judge agreed and dismissed the case. The court said there was no legal proof of a binding deal between the musician and the center for the canceled show. Judge Tanya Jones Bosier said the center had failed to show a valid breach of contract. She noted there was no signed agreement in place. Without a signed contract, she said, the claim could not stand in court. “I could not find a valid breach-of-contract claim here,” the judge said, according to court records reported by the Washington Post. “There’s no dispute that he did not sign the 2025 agreement.” The dismissal also came under the District of Columbia’s anti-SLAPP law. This law is designed to stop lawsuits that may be used to silence public speech or public disagreement. The court found the case met that standard and threw it out. Redd said he was pleased with the ruling. His lawyers also welcomed the decision and said the lawsuit should never have been filed in the first place. They argued that Redd was within his rights to cancel a performance tied to a political issue he disagreed with. The dispute began after changes at the Kennedy Center sparked public attention. The venue, known as a major US cultural landmark, has long been viewed as a national arts institution. It is widely associated with former President John F. Kennedy and serves as a living memorial. Tension increased when discussions surfaced about adding Donald Trump’s name to the center. Critics said such a move would change the meaning and identity of the institution. Supporters of the idea said it honored Trump’s contributions to the arts and national culture. Richard Grenell, who was leading the center at the time of the dispute, strongly criticized Redd after he withdrew from the show. He warned that the center could sue for damages of up to $1 million, calling the cancellation a political act that harmed a nonprofit arts institution. In a written message to Redd, Grenell said the decision to pull out at the last moment was unfair and costly. He linked the cancellation directly to the naming dispute and accused the musician of intolerance. The center later filed the lawsuit in March. It also offered to settle the case if Redd paid $7,500, performed at a future concert, and agreed not to make public political comments about his withdrawal. Redd rejected those conditions. His legal team said the demands were unfair and aimed at limiting his freedom to speak about his reasons for canceling. On the same issue, another court ruling recently ordered the removal of Trump’s name from parts of the Kennedy Center building and its website. The judge said the center could not be renamed without approval from Congress, since it is protected as a national memorial. Redd’s lawyers said the final ruling shows the lawsuit was not based on a real contract dispute but on disagreement over political expression. They called it an attempt to punish the musician for speaking out. The court’s decision closes the case, leaving Redd free from financial penalties or performance obligations.