A Black musician has alleged that her performance at the Kennedy Center was ruined by a group of gay Republicans booing and jeering her.
Yasmin Williams, a virtuoso guitarist, said she was playing a free concert at the D.C. venue when she was heckled by members of the Log Cabin Republicans who were holding their monthly meeting on the rooftop terrace.
She said that she was booed when she mentioned Ric Grenell, the MAGA firebrand installed as the center’s chairman by President Donald Trump.
“I do not support the new board at all, I don’t support anyone affiliated with them, I don’t support anyone affiliated with the Trump administration at all—especially you, Ric Grenell,” Williams said to the audience, The Washington Post reported. “I am not a fan of yours at all.” That was when she was booed, the recorded livestream of her performance shows.
Williams, a 24-year-old acoustic soloist whose inspirations include Jimi Hendrix, claimed she was given a security escort to leave after her show because of the disruption.
She also posed to Instagram what she said was evidence of a concerted attempt to disrupt her performance by the Log Cabin Republicans of D.C.’s leadership.
An email sent to members of the group from its president, Andrew Minik, invited them to their monthly meeting last Thursday, saying the guest speaker program began at 7 p.m.
But it added, “Guests are encouraged to arrive at 5:30 PM in the Hall of States at the Kennedy Center to join members for a special performance. The artist, liberal guitarist Yasmin Williams, will be giving a free performance prior to the meeting. She is apparently vocal opponent of President Trump and The Kennedy Center’s decision to hold a vigil for Charlie Kirk. Let’s make sure the audience is filled with patriots!”
Williams has been a public critic of the Trump makeover of the Kennedy Center, but there is no evidence she has passed comment on its vigil for Charlie Kirk, which was attended by some of MAGA’s biggest names.
The email also noted an “open bar” with “first-come, first served” drink tickets and added, “so arrive early for the performance to take advantage.” The venue was changed to the Kennedy Center only two days in advance for unspecified reasons.
Williams told the Post she was speaking out because she feared other performers being jeered. “I felt compelled to do it because I thought people should be aware because if it happened to me, it could happen to anyone,” she said. “But also it was super stressful because the next two days after the show I was just getting more and more details about what exactly happened from various people, and it became clear to me it was definitely a calculated, targeted thing.”
The Kennedy Center declined to comment to the Beast but pointed to an earlier statement from its spokesperson Roma Daravi to the Post which, curiously, denied that Grenell had any involvement—something that Williams had not claimed—and also said the Kennedy Center did not know that the Log Cabin Republicans of D.C. had a meeting on its roof with an open bar.
Daravi told the Post: “This is an absolutely ridiculous claim. There was no coordinated effort by the Kennedy Center. Grenell had no involvement. We did not even know they were coming.”
Daravi also appeared to speak for the Log Cabin Republicans, telling the Post, “They did not heckle and frankly it is defamation of character for her to say that she however bashed Grenell and the Center from the Kennedy Center stage. Republicans are patrons too and they are welcome at the Kennedy Center just like anyone else.”
Williams previously clashed with Grenell in April when she asked him questions about his decisions to, among other things, roll back DEI initiatives and about the decision of groups including the Gay Men’s Chorus to cancel their performances. She described his response as “insane,” which included him telling her, “Don’t be a victim now. You asked.”
She had decided to keep performing at the center to support its staff and audiences, she said.
The tension comes amid Trump’s broader campaign to reshape the public venue in his own image, including supporting a proposal to name the Opera House after the first lady, Melania.
He and Melania were met with a cacophony of boos when they stepped out from their box at a Les Misérables performance in June.
Shows including Hamilton have canceled upcoming performances, as have the likes of comedian Issa Rae and musician Ben Folds.
And in September, it was reported that ticket sales for its new look programming were in crisis, with swathes of empty seats expected, according to The Washingtonian. The magazine also reported that revenue from subscriptions had fallen off a cliff, plummeting by almost half.
