Actor Jane Fonda and singer Joan Baez were among the most notable celebrities at a demonstration of musicians, actors and artists in front of the Kennedy Center building Friday to denounce what they described as threats to free speech during President Trump’s second term.
“We chose to hold today’s action in front of the John F. Kennedy Center because this beloved citadel has become a symbol of what is happening,” Fonda said.
“The Committee of the First Amendment felt it was time to expose the range and depth of the attacks on the bedrock of our democracy, the First Amendment.”
The event, called “Artists United for Our Freedoms,” was organized by the Committee for the First Amendment, a group started by Fonda’s father that she revived in October after ABC News temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show amid pressure from the government.
Performers and speakers at the event ranged from Fonda and Baez to actors Sam Waterston and Billy Porter, singer Maggie Rogers, former celebrity.land correspondent Jim Acosta and acclaimed author Ann Patchett.
The event comes as the Kennedy Center has come under increased control from the Trump administration since the beginning of his term. Trump has overhauled the center’s board and named himself chair, placed his own name on the side of the building and announced the center would be closing for two years to undergo renovations.
The changes have led to a wave of musicians, dancers and singers canceling their performances at the venue and resulted in a significant drop in ticket sales.
On Wednesday, Matt Floca, the center’s executive director, sent an internal email to employees stating they would begin rolling out layoffs ahead of the center’s closure in the days and weeks ahead. DC News Now reported Thursday at least 40 staff members are losing their jobs.
“Some of you are with us, thank you,” Fonda said of the laid off employees. “The center has been effectively silenced after artists refused to bow to ideological demands and the racist erasure of history.”
Attendees held up signs that said, “Performing arts are for everyone! Not Trump branding” and “we are the Kennedy Center.” The small stage displayed signs hand-painted in red, white and blue saying, “Freedom begins with expression” and “Art = Freedom.”
“The impact that this has had on the organization and my colleagues who work so tirelessly on behalf of local and national people, all of us, to make sure that we’ve been representing arts from every corner of our country, I’m here on behalf of them as well as what we’re all losing,” said Diana Ezerins, a D.C. resident who said she previously worked at the Kennedy Center for 18 years.
The event comes a day before millions are expected to demonstrate in “No Kings” protests around the country. A member of Third Act, a progressive organization for people older than 60, passed out flyers for a march across Memorial Bridge early Saturday to congregate on the National Mall.
Rogers, an Indie pop singer, said she grew up going to the Kennedy Center as a kid and was inspired by the artists she saw perform there.
“I don’t think it’s the role of any administration to tell someone how to feel, especially when shared feeling is so often the thing that connects us,” Rogers said. “More than anything these days I feel scared, and I feel afraid and when I feel that way I make music.”
Baez, a folk singer popular in the 1950s and ’60s, said she considered returning her Kennedy Center honor amid changes to the center.
“I realized that that would be admitting defeat,” Baez said. “It would mean that we’ve given into a bully and a tyrant who is doing his best to strip us of our freedoms, to strip us of our joy.”
Baez and Rogers performed a duet together, singing “ain’t gonna let no pagan bigotry turn me around” and “ain’t gonna let no censorship turn me around.”
The event closed out with an original song performed by Kristy Lee, a country folk singer who withdrew from performing at the Kennedy Center after Trump’s crackdown. Lee said she was looking forward to the opportunity to play at the esteemed center but it would have cost her her “integrity,” which she said was “worth more than any paycheck.”
“I was raised with a good gut to know right from wrong and I think there’s a lot of things that are happening right now that we all know just ain’t right,” Lee said. “And it’s got a lot of people disconnected from each other. That’s one of the reasons I pulled away from playing at the Kennedy Center.”
Lee performed one of her songs called “Free Love” for the audience and asked the audience to respond with “love is free” each time they heard her say “free love.” The other speakers and performers joined her on the stage, holding on to each other and swaying to Lee’s song.
The event wrapped up at around 3:30 p.m. EDT, with Fonda encouraging the crowd and those watching on the livestream to attend “No Kings” protests in their home areas Saturday.
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