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Shonda Rhimes Resigns From Kennedy Center Board After Trump Takes Over

President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has prompted the resignations of many of its board members — including writer-producer Shonda Rhimes.

“Please be advised that as of today, Shonda Rhimes has resigned from the board of the Kennedy Center,” a spokesperson for the Shondaland CEO told Deadline.

The artistic advisor at the National Symphony Orchestra, Ben Folds, and the Kennedy Center’s artistic advisor at large, Renée Fleming, have also resigned.

Trump fired 18 Kennedy Center board members who’d been appointed by former President Joe Biden, including billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein, who was chairman, and arts executive Deborah F. Rutter, who was president. Trump, who has the power to appoint individuals to the board for six-year terms, was also elected chairman of the board on Wednesday.

The Center not only memorializes former President John F. Kennedy, but it also hosts about 2,000 performances and about 2 million visitors each year.

Trump has specifically criticized the Center’s drag shows: “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” Trump said on Truth Social last week. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”

In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, he wrote: “It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!”

The new board includes second lady Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Presidential Personnel Office Director Sergio Gor, among others, according to the center’s website.

In a statement on Friday, the center acknowledged Trump’s decision to terminate some of the board members as legal but unprecedented.

“Per the Center’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the center’s board members,” it said. “There is nothing in the center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.”