Whoopi Goldberg has made it clear she has no intention of returning to the Kennedy Center following President Donald Trump’s controversial leadership shakeup. The View co-host criticized Trump’s decision to remove much of the board and replace members with his own supporters, arguing that the institution no longer represents its original artistic mission.
During a discussion on The View on Thursday, March 6, Goldberg and her co-hosts spoke with Hamilton producers Jeffrey Seller and Lin-Manuel Miranda about their decision to cancel the musical’s planned 2026 run at the Kennedy Center.
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“The fact that it wasn’t a discussion, it was a big smack to the arts — which don’t have a politics. The politics are, look at the differences in the actors. That’s the real statement,” Goldberg said. Trump defended his decision at the time, stating, “We’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going be woke,” according to The Hill.
Richard Grenell, Trump’s newly installed interim director of the Kennedy Center, dismissed the Hamilton cancellation, calling it a “publicity stunt that will backfire.” Goldberg, who received the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2001, expressed support for the Hamilton producers’ decision.
“So I understand why they did it,” she said. She then announced her own decision to boycott the center until it restores its inclusive mission. “I have no plans to go back to the Kennedy Center until the Kennedy Center becomes what it was supposed to be, and that was a welcome place for all artists, no matter what your groove is,” Goldberg declared.
She also condemned Trump’s move to replace bipartisan board members with political allies. “They didn’t make judgments about the people that they put in,” she said, referring to the previous board’s diversity. The leadership changes at the Kennedy Center have triggered a wave of high-profile resignations and cancellations. Shonda Rhimes stepped down as treasurer after Trump named himself chair.
Singer Ben Folds also resigned from his role as artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra. Actress Issa Rae followed suit, canceling her sold-out upcoming appearance at the Kennedy Center in protest, according to The Daily Beast.
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The controversy continues as comedian Conan O’Brien is set to receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize on March 23. Goldberg, who has frequently attended the Kennedy Center Honors, last appeared at the ceremony in 2023 but has now distanced herself from the institution under Trump’s leadership.
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