Former Amb. Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed head of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, called out “atrocious reporting” by the New York Times and the Washington Post in a red carpet interview with Breitbart News.
Ahead of the arts center’s June 11 opening night of Les Misérables, CNN, WaPo, NYT, and other establishment media outlets reported that cast members of the musical would boycott the performance as President Donald Trump would be in the audience — a rumor that never came to fruition.
“I’m glad you pointed that out, because what the New York Times has done, what the Washington Post has done, has been literally atrocious reporting,” Grenell told Breitbart News Friday evening ahead of a showing of The Sound of Music, when asked about the Les Misérables reports.
“They don’t think about the financials,” he continued. “They’ve never reported on any of the good news, and they push this fake news that somehow we’ve canceled shows. We didn’t cancel a single show. I’m really proud to say that I haven’t canceled a single thing.”
The popular musical Hamilton canceled its Kennedy Center show in March following the Trump administration’s shakeup of the staff, with an announcement that creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and lead producer Jeffrey Seller made to the New York Times.
“People that have left are the ones who can’t perform for the other side of the aisle,” Grenell continued. “And I just want to say that everybody is welcome. Whoever you are, you’re welcome.”
Before Grenell walked off the red carpet, he declined to be interviewed by New York Times correspondent Shawn McCreesh, calling his outlet a “gossip” rag.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.