A judge has dismissed the breach of contract lawsuit filed by the Kennedy Center against jazz musician Chuck Redd.

The lawsuit stemmed from Redd's decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance after the White House announced plans to add Donald Trump's name to the facility.

This development is significant as it concludes a legal dispute that arose from a musician's public stance against a political decision affecting a cultural institution.

Redd's lawyers confirmed the dismissal, and the musician expressed his satisfaction with the ruling to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit was initiated after Redd pulled out of the annual, free "Christmas Eve Jazz Jam" at the Kennedy Center.

Richard Grenell, then president of the Kennedy Center, had threatened to sue Redd, seeking $1 million in damages and labeling the cancellation a "political stunt." Grenell stated that Redd's withdrawal, explicitly in response to the center's renaming, was "classic intolerance" and costly for a non-profit arts institution.

The Kennedy Center filed suit in March, reportedly offering to settle if Redd paid $7,500, performed at the current year's concert, and refrained from making "political commentary" about his decision to withdraw.

However, DC superior court judge Tanya Jones Bosier ruled on Friday that Kennedy Center officials could not prove a legally binding agreement with Redd was in place.

"I could not find a valid breach-of-contract claim here," Jones Bosier stated, according to the Washington Post, adding, "There’s no dispute that he did not sign the 2025 agreement."

The judge granted Redd’s motion to dismiss under the District of Columbia’s anti-Slapp (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law.

This law is designed to prevent legal actions intended to silence opposing viewpoints on matters of public interest.

Lisa J Banks, one of Redd’s lawyers, commented on the outcome, stating, "The Center sued Mr Redd because he publicly and rightly objected to adding Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, a living memorial to former President John F Kennedy.

The lawsuit against Mr Redd was political retribution, pure and simple, by the Trump Kennedy Center, and the Court correctly saw it as such in dismissing the case with prejudice."

This dismissal follows a separate ruling last week where another judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the center's facade and website, asserting that the performing arts venue, designated as a living memorial to the late president by Congress, cannot be renamed without an act of Congress.