«The View» co-host Whoopi Goldberg announced that she will not visit The Kennedy Center for the foreseeable future after President Trump was elected chair of the Washington D.C. arts venue.
The actress and comedian made the statement during the ABC talk show Thursday, siding with the creators of the play «Hamilton,» who pulled their show from the theater following Trump’s shake-up of Kennedy Center leadership.
«I understand why they did it,» she said regarding the people behind Hamilton, adding, «And I have no plans to go back to the Kennedy Center until it becomes what it was supposed to be.»
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Goldberg’s words come after «Hamilton» creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and show producer Jeffrey Seller announced on X this week that they and their show will not be associated with The Kennedy Center going forward, after President Trump reconstituted the venue’s old board of trustees with multiple pro-Trump figures, who then named him chairman last month.
In a joint statement given to The New York Times, both Miranda and Seller stated, «This latest action by Trump means it’s not the Kennedy Center as we knew it. The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center. We’re just not going to be part of it.»
In response to their statement, newly minted Kennedy Center president, Ric Grenell, wrote on X, «Let’s be clear on the facts. Seller and @Lin_Manuel first went to the New York Times before they came to the Kennedy Center with their announcement that they can’t be in the same room with Republicans. This is a publicity stunt that will backfire.»
He added, «The Arts are for everyone – not just for the people who Lin likes and agrees with.»
«The View» co-hosts expressed support for the «Hamilton» producers’ move. Co-host Sara Haines declared that the arts should be a «place of such inclusion and celebration» and suggested that Trump filling the board with conservatives flies in the face of that.
Co-host Joy Behar chimed in with a snarky quip about the venue’s new leadership, stating, «I think, you know, Trump and Vance can star in ‘The King and I,’ for example.»
«And I’d like to know, does Trump know who [Alexander] Hamilton is?» Behar asked, adding, «They ruined the whole thing.»
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Sunny Hostin argued on behalf of the Hamilton producers, saying, «If you fire everyone – and it was a bipartisan group – and replace them with sycophants that are just going to… that are just going to toe the Trump line, is that really the mission of the Kennedy Center? And they say no.»
Co-host and former Trump staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin reminded the panel that Hamilton people have often made political statements following their shows.
In the wake of Trump’s first election, the cast of Hamilton lectured then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence following a show he attended. «We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,» said Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, the nation’s third vice president.
Still, Griffin said she doesn’t like «the ending of the tradition of [The Kennedy Center] being bipartisan.»
Goldberg concluded the segment, stating that she won’t be attending Kennedy Center shows until it gets back to being a «welcome place for all artists, no matter what your groove is.»
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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