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Another Kennedy Center Honoree Boycotts White House Reception

Aug 18, 2017  •  Post A Comment

Donald Trump appears to be having problems with the guest list for his White House reception in connection with the upcoming Kennedy Center Honors. The Washington Post reports that a second honoree has opted out of the reception.

Dancer, choreographer and actress Carmen de Lavallade indicated Thursday that although she plans to attend the Dec. 3 ceremony at the Kennedy Center, she’s not interested in a visit to the Trump White House.

“In light of the socially divisive and morally caustic narrative that our current leadership is choosing to engage in, and in keeping with the principles that I and so many others have fought for, I will be declining the invitation to attend the reception at the White House,” de Lavallade said in a written statement provided to The Post.

De Lavallade, 86, “was a principal guest performer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and was one of the first African Americans to dance for the Metropolitan Opera,” The Post reports. “Though her home is in New York, her work has taken her close to Charlottesville, the scene of a deadly white supremacist rally this weekend, which Trump has been criticized for failing to sufficiently condemn.”

De Lavallade’s White House boycott follows a similar move by TV writer and producer Norman Lear, another of this year’s five Kennedy Center honorees. The others are Gloria Estefan, LL Cool J and Lionel Richie.

3 Comments

  1. Come on LL, Lionel and Gloria.. do the right thing and resist this racist, white supremacist non-human by joining Norman and Carmen in solidarity.

  2. Come on LL, Lionel and Gloria.. do the right thing and resist this racist, white supremacist non-human by joining Norman and Carmen in solidarity.

  3. Entertainment industry talent and administrators together with business executives are always making the same mistake – well several mistakes. People (read customers) will not patronize your business or watch your movies BECAUSE you hold yourself out to supposedly occupy the moral high ground on any issue. But they will AVOID you if you make your position known and it is different from their own. It is politicians and clergy that have the JOB of presenting their opinions and trying to sway others. An actor with universal appeal for the work they do has only one direction to go when they choose sides. In this country today the potential is to loose half of the box office appeal you once had!

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