How Bad Will the Kennedy Center Honors Be- Page 4

[DanS3]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 4:10pm

JSquared2 said: "The person(s) being "honored" would have to agree to accept (even if they couldn't be there in person). Do you really think that ANY of the people you are suggesting would agree to cozy up with this administration??"

Ahhh...good point.  I just hate Trump so much I get crazy and lose common sense. I'm having a hard time understanding how we're where we are.

 

[DanS3]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 4:12pm

JSquared2 said: "The person(s) being "honored" would have to agree to accept (even if they couldn't be there in person). Do you really think that ANY of the people you are suggesting would agree to cozy up with this administration??"

Good point.  I just hate Trump so much I lose all common sense. I'm having a hard time understanding how we ended up here.

[Jumpin_J]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 4:32pm

So much to be angered about, from the nominees, to his BS of "I didn't want to host it but they asked me to so I agreed", to his social media post mocking it calling it "TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER". His contempt knows no bottom. Trump Names Strait, Stallone And Kiss For Kennedy Center Honors And Says He'll Host The Awards Show

[ACL2006]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 5:57pm

I'm surprised he's not honoring himself.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 6:02pm

I believe that all recipients have accepted and agreed to be there for the ceremony. That's how it's always been stated in the past. 

Can you imagine if this was broadcast live? If his hosting performance will be anything like his seat-of-his-pants press conferences, this could go on until, as Frank sang, the wee small hours of the morning...

[merle57]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 6:09pm

There will be a SURPRISE AWARD - TO TRUMP WHILE HE IS ONSTAGE. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 6:13pm

I’ve seen this one! They offer him a crown, he refuses. They offer it again, he refuses again. They offer a third time and he says “wellll….”

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 8/13/25 at 7:00pm

The general feeling of 'well it could have been worse" comes from the fact that the bar has been getting lower and lower year after year. The last years of the previous regime had plenty of "who's that?", head scratchers, and yawners. Inadvertently, they've been slowly grooming us to have this shoulder-shrugging reaction to this year's crop.

Had these picks come right after the first decade or so of the Honors
(Marian Anderson, Fred Astaire, George Balanchine, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Rubinstein, Aaron Copland, Ella Fitzgerald, Henry Fonda, Martha Graham, Tennessee Williams, Leonard Bernstein, James Cagney, Agnes de Mille, Lynn Fontanne, Leontyne Price, Count Basie, Cary Grant, Helen Hayes, Jerome Robbins, Rudolf Serkin, George Abbott, Lillian Gish, Benny Goodman, Gene Kelly, Eugene Ormandy, Katherine Dunham, Elia Kazan, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, Virgil Thomson, Lena Horne, Danny Kaye, Gian Carlo Menotti, Arthur Miller, Isaac Stern, Harry Belafonte, and Claudette Colbert)
we'd be having quite a different reaction.

Of course, it's not entirely a fair comparison as that first decade had more than 1/2 a century of American culture to pick from. But, still.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 7:54am

How Sly Stallone and Gloria Gaynor explain Trump and his presidency 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/14/politics/trump-kennedy-center-strait-stallone-gaynor-kiss-analysis

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 8:20am

Chris Peterson again telling people what to do:

https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2025/8/13/michael-crawford-doesnt-need-this-honor-and-he-shouldnt-want-it

[John Adams]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 9:40am

BorisTomashevsky said: "Chris Peterson again telling people what to do:
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2025/8/13/michael-crawford-doesnt-need-this-honor-and-he-shouldnt-want-it"

Thank you for including the link in your post. After reading the article, I don't find any indication that he's telling Michael Crawford what to do.

He's (Peterson has) given his opinions on possible consequences, should Crawford accept the recognition. He's also added his very strong opinion regarding "need"/"want" to the title of the article.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the implication that there might be a limit on how much recognition shoould be considered 'enough' when Peterson writes: "he has collected more honors, accolades, and standing ovations than most performers could dream of. His legacy is secure. His reputation is burnished. His place in theatre history is locked in stone."

But... This is America. We can do that, here (at least, for now). Just as Peterson has the freedom to write it, everyone else can choose to accept or ignore his opinions.

I'm glad Peterson wrote what he wrote. I also know that the decision to accept/decline the award belongs to Michael Crawford only.

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 12:42pm

Reports are that Tom Cruise said “no” as he is washing his hair that day - I mean “scheduling conflicts”

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 12:43pm

The one thing about any of these honorees turning it down is it may lead to even worse selections in the future like Kid Rock or Vince McMahon or Dean Cain or Scott Baio (I'm semi-joking about the last two, i hope). That would completely devalue that honor whereas as it stands now, it might still be salvageable when (if?) the Trump presidency comes to an end.

Updated On: 8/14/25 at 12:43 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 1:58pm

While the Michael Crawford inclusion is bizarre - he Donnie still playing the cassette of his Phantom cast recording? - this is otherwise the makings of a fun show - extremely shallow, but fun. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can watch this, even if they do manage to edit most of him out.

[Dom P]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 2:15pm

everythingtaboo said: "While the Michael Crawford inclusion is bizarre - he Donnie still playing the cassette of his Phantom cast recording? - this is otherwise the makings of a fun show -extremely shallow, but fun. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can watch this, even if they do manage to edit most of him out."

Sounds like Donnie hosting The Gong Show.

[KrupYou]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 2:16pm

I wonder who they will get to perform? 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 3:18pm

There seems to be growing pressure on social media to try and convince Gloria Gaynor to decline the "honor".  

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 3:19pm

quizking101 said: "ACL2006 said: "MezzA101 said: "NYT Update:

President Trump said he would host the Kennedy Center Honors himself in December, as he announced this year’s honorees: the actor Sylvester Stallone, the rock band Kiss, the recording artists George Strait and Gloria Gaynor, and the British actor Michael Crawford. Mr. Trump has been intensely interested in the center, naming himself its chairman and purging its traditionally bipartisan board, and said he rejected prospective honorees he called “wokesters.”"

Is Gloria Gaynor a MAGA? With Dumpster hosting this nonsense, I can't imagine how bad the things will be."

He also literally picked a woman who sang two of the biggest gay anthems ever, “I Will Survive” and a cover of “I Am What I Am”.

Yet he didn’t want “wokester” picks. I’m so confused…but if she accepts, you’ll probably never hear those songs at Pride again. The biggest artist betrayal of the queer community since Donna Summer"

 

Yeah, I wish Gaynor had not accepted.

As far as Summer is concerned, All of that was really never confirmed. And she actually addressed it. A lot of us partially forgave her.  I still listen to "Once Upon A Time" a lot!

 

Updated On: 8/14/25 at 03:19 PM

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 3:35pm

I think the accepting part is usually done before the announcement.  Bu with tthe orange turd, who knows.  I wont be watching.  But we have to be careful.. the turd could use our outrage to his advantage.  Kennedy Center is usually aired in December when people are not watching that mutch tv.  I would hate for him to turn it into a ratings winner with his cult followers.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 3:50pm

SmokeyLady, your are correct. Honorees usually accept before the announcement.

[communitytheatergal88]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 4:21pm

everythingtaboo said: "While the Michael Crawford inclusion is bizarre - he Donnie still playing the cassette of his Phantom cast recording? - this is otherwise the makings of a fun show -extremely shallow, but fun. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can watch this, even if they do manage to edit most of him out."

It COULD be a fun show given the honorees.  But I fear instead it will just be the DT show -- he will dominate the proceedings, everyone will be genuflecting before him, they will probably conjure up some award or tribute to hm, and the  honorees will get short shrift...Past shows have been squarely focussed on the honorees, and not the politicians in the room.  There is zero chance of that happening this year.  

[Tom5]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 5:33pm

The question of how bad the Kennedy Center Honors Will Be makes no sense since it falsely assumes that they matter now. 

[Kad]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 5:41pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "Chris Peterson again telling people what to do:

https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2025/8/13/michael-crawford-doesnt-need-this-honor-and-he-shouldnt-want-it"

Stop fixating on what a pretty minor, narrowly focused blogger with almost no influence outside of his limited readership thinks about things. 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 5:59pm

ACL2006 said: "I'm surprised he's not honoring himself."

He has already publicly stated that he is getting a Kennedy Center honor next year. Hopefully it will be an “In Memoriam” honor. 

[Dolly80]

Posted: 8/14/25 at 6:37pm

Shame on all of these people accepting these honours. They deserve to be cancelled. Especially Gaynor and Crawford.