President Trump stands in the presidential box as he tours the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 17.
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The Kennedy Center Honors have traditionally been one of Washington’s splashiest affairs. Think Hollywood on the Potomac.
Every year, an astonishing number of A-listers come to Washington, D.C., to pay tribute to the honorees with performances and speeches. Think Beyoncé performing for Tina Turner, Audrey Hepburn rhapsodizing about Cary Grant, Rob Reiner praising Norman Lear, Aretha Franklin singing for Carol King, Sidney Poitier honoring Harry Belafonte or James Taylor and John Williams playing for Yo-Yo Ma.
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This year’s Kennedy Center honorees are Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, the rock band KISS, Gloria Gaynor and English actor and singer Michael Crawford.
As in years past, Sunday night’s gala will be turned into a broadcast special that will air on CBS and Paramount+ on Dec. 23.
But, after months of upheaval at the Kennedy Center, the 48th Honors will be different. In February, President Trump abruptly ousted the Kennedy Center president, Deborah Rutter, and board chair David Rubenstein. Staff who worked on the ceremony and broadcast have also recently resigned.
Here’s what else has changed.
The selection process
In the past, honorees were chosen in a months-long, bipartisan undertaking by members of the Kennedy Center board with input from the general public and past honorees. Ultimately recipients were selected by executive members of the board and a couple of other senior staff members, with consultation from past honorees such as Julie Andrews, Lionel Richie and John Williams.
This year, President Trump said he was “about 98%” involved in the selection process. He also broke with tradition by personally announcing the names at a press conference at the Kennedy Center last August. Previously, the announcement was made on the center’s website and in press releases.
The host
Previous hosts of the Kennedy Center Honors have included Walter Cronkite, Stephen Colbert, Gloria Estefan and Queen Latifah. Trump will host this year, a first for a U.S. president. At the August press conference, Trump said he’s hosting because he was asked (he didn’t say by whom), and said he was told “You’ll get much higher ratings.” He continued, “I used to host The Apprentice finales and we did rather well with that. So I think we’re going to do very well because we have some great honorees.”
Neither Trump nor first lady Melania Trump attended Honors events during his first term.
Actor and singer Queen Latifah, Jill Biden and former President Joe Biden attend the 46th Kennedy Center Honors in 2023.
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Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images
One of the time-honored perks of being chosen is getting to sit with the president and first lady in the Box Tier of the Kennedy Center Opera House. It’s unclear how Trump’s hosting duties will affect his presence in the box.
The iconic rainbow medallion is no more
In the past, Kennedy Center Honorees were each presented with a vibrant, multicolored satin ribbon adorned with a gold plate inscribed with the honoree’s name at a State Department dinner the evening before the gala. Past honorees including Quincy Jones and Rita Moreno would attend subsequent galas proudly wearing their own medallions.
For the first time since 1978, the medallions will not be made by the same family of artists, as first reported by The Washington Post. The new design is by Tiffany & Co. and features a blue ribbon instead of the rainbow one, with rainbow stripes on the medallion itself.
Who will show?
In keeping with tradition, the Kennedy Center is not revealing the names of the performers who will pay tribute to this year’s honorees. The surprise on honorees’ faces when they see who has come to pay their respects has made for some fun, poignant TV moments.
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The upheaval at the Kennedy Center has led to questions about who will be there this year. Historically, even when artists have disagreed with past administrations, they’ve in large part showed up. Some make it a point to come every year.
This year could be different. Former honoree Herbie Hancock, who has attended many past Honors and consulted during the selection process, will not attend. His spokesperson told NPR he will be on a tour of Asia. Bonnie Raitt, one of last year’s honorees who has also been a tribute performer, will not attend either.
Over the decades, the Kennedy Center forged strong relationships with leading performing artists from around the world. At the press conference in August, Trump boasted that he and the center’s new leadership “ended the woke political programming.” Words that might push some artists away.
