Last week, on September 18, Yasmin Williams performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Despite having previously had a heated email exchange with Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, Williams said that she felt it was important to play “the show for all the Kennedy Center staff who formed their own union and are still working there, fighting to maintain the institution’s integrity.”
During the concert, which took place at the Washington, D.C., center’s Millennium Stage, Williams was heckled by an organized group of Log Cabin Republicans, she said online. “During my Kennedy Center show on Thursday night, a group of Tr*mp supporters boo’d me when I mentioned Ric Grenell and seemed to be there to intimidate me,” Williams wrote on social media. She also shared screenshots of an apparent email sent out by Andrew Minik, the president of the group’s Washington, D.C., chapter, imploring members to “make sure the audience is filled with patriots!”
During her show, which is available to watch in full below, Williams reiterated her support for Kennedy Center staff and criticized the organization’s board of trustees, a group that was put together by President Donald J. Trump after he made himself the center’s new chairman.
“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. “I am not a fan of yours at all.” Applause and boos can be heard in the video, too.
After the show, Williams wrote on social media that her “safety was threatened” and that security “escorted [her] to [her] car to keep [her] safe.” She also told Washingtonian about the apparent hecklers. “They booed and heckled me,” she said. “They tried to derail my concert, but fortunately they were outnumbered.”
In an email to The Washington Post, Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi disputed Williams’ claims about the organized efforts to disrupt her performance. “This is an absolutely ridiculous claim,” Daravi wrote. “There was no coordinated effort by the Kennedy Center. Grenell had no involvement. We did not even know they were coming.”
Daravi also claimed that Log Cabin Republican members “did not heckle and frankly it is defamation of character for her [Yasmin Williams] 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.”
