Following a U.S. federal judge’s order requiring 30 days’ notice before any major physical changes to the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, human rights activist Kerry Kennedy denounced the venue’s sudden closure as a tragedy and accused the administration of political hostage-taking over a naming dispute.
The ongoing battle over the Washington, D.C. performing arts institution reached a new legal and public flashpoint on September 15, 2026, when the center’s board of trustees voted to close the John F. Kennedy Center (Performing Arts), citing safety concerns and financial strain. The closure vote unfolded just hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked the board from adding President Donald Trump’s name to the building, holding that changing the institution’s name requires an act of Congress. Congress established the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
Kerry Kennedy and Family Critics Blast Facility Closure
Mary Kerry Kennedy was born on September 8, 1959, in Washington, D.C., to former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel. She is one of their eleven children, a niece of President John F. Kennedy, and a sister of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She attended The Putney School in Vermont and received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, later earning a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. A lawyer, author, and human rights activist, she serves as president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, having begun working in human rights in 1981 as an intern with Amnesty International before later establishing RFK Partners for Human Rights. She has written books including Speak Truth to Power and Being Catholic Now and is a member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia bars.
Kerry Kennedy called out the Kennedy Center closure vote as a “tragedy” the same day on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront. She argued that the institution faces no genuine financial deficit, pointing instead to an ongoing dispute involving presidential recognition.
Kerry Kennedy remarked that it was a tragedy, noting that the American people love the Kennedy Center and the arts, understand what is happening, and see the corruption in it, emphasizing that there was no financial issue and that President Trump had stated $250 million was ready to be handed over the next day, which he was withholding solely because he wanted his name on the building. Kerry Kennedy, human rights activist, author, and president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
She also stated that this resembled many other things touched by Trump, resulting in bankruptcy because he added his name to them. Kerry Kennedy added that this amounted to hostage-taking by the president of the United States. She further stated, urging President Trump to focus on what was important and to leave the Kennedy Center alone.
Other members of the Kennedy family also voiced alarm. People reported that Kerry Kennedy called for a protest at the cultural institution on her X account. Maria Shriver, a niece of President Kennedy, separately criticized the center’s closure, calling the situation “a tragedy.” ABC News also reported that protesters from the organization Hands Off the Arts are expected to hold a Hands Around the Kennedy Center
demonstration. Protesters also gathered at the venue on Friday to demonstrate against demolition threats, opposing the recent sudden closure of the facility and the installation of security fencing.
Structural Concerns and the Grand Foyer Ceiling Collapse
The sudden closure follows acute physical deterioration at the federal memorial. Officials pointed to a September 4 storm in which a section of ceiling plaster fell in the Grand Foyer. Congress had appropriated about $257 million for restoration work. Trump chairs the board and has said the building needs major repair and that renovation support is tied to recognition of his administration’s role.
Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca said the current closure is a separate, temporary measure prompted by acute risks to public safety
from structural deterioration. He said most public areas would remain closed for at least seven days while officials assess the building. The venue had already approved plans to shut for up to two years for a $257 million renovation.
Legal Restrictions and Trump Administration Demolition Warnings
Kennedy Center drama continued this week as President Trump raised the possibility of demolishing the building amid an ongoing legal fight over adding his name to its facade. Trump said Wednesday that the building could eventually be “ripped down” without his administration’s intervention, and ABC News reported that the president also told reporters that he believed the Trump administration should certainly receive recognition, explaining that frankly, if that did not happen, the facility would close and end up being torn down.
The Hill reported that Trump was photographed aboard Air Force One on Wednesday examining a large printout that appeared to reference demolition of the Kennedy Center. President Trump also suggested during a campaign stop in North Carolina that day that his administration could demolish the center if it did not honor Trump in addition to former President John F. Kennedy, and close it for renovations according to his own design.
Trump said the renovation would not move forward if courts ultimately prevented the center from using his name.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Kennedy Center officials Thursday to provide more than 30 days’ notice before making major changes to the renovation plans previously presented to the court, including any demolition of the main building. On September 17, Barbra Streisand, a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor recipient, said the dispute was galling and painful to witness,
objecting to Donald Trump’s effort to add his name to the Washington, D.C., performing arts institution and arguing that the center should remain a place where artists can challenge, inspire, and bring Americans together through the arts.
While Kalshi traders currently think a demolition is unlikely to happen this year, pricing the odds at just 11%, Cooper’s September 17 ruling requires at least 30 days’ notice before any major physical changes, including possible demolition, giving the court a procedural stop sign during its planned closure.
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