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A top official at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has stepped down just 12 days after his appointment.
Kevin Couch, who had been senior vice president of artistic programming, confirmed to The Washington Post that he stepped down on Wednesday, though he did not say why. The news comes less than two weeks after the center announced he would be filling the role.
Related: Canceled shows and record lows: How Trump is killing the Kennedy Center
“I am honored to join the Trump Kennedy Center at such a pivotal moment for the performing arts,” Couch said in a statement at the time. “I look forward to the extraordinary creative possibilities ahead — championing our artists and partners to deliver meaningful experiences at America’s cultural center.”
Trump announced in February his plans to wipe out the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center and replace the chairman with himself. He said he was specifically motivated to overhaul the center so he could end the family-friendly drag shows it occasionally hosted.
As drag artists staged protests, ticket sales at the center plummeted. Over 43 percent of seats went unsold between September 3 and October 19, according to a report from the Post, compared to only 7 percent during the same period in 2024. The 48th Kennedy Center Honors telecast hosted by Trump also drew the smallest audience ever for the event, a report from Programming Insider found, receiving just 2.65 million viewers — a 35 percent decline from the 4.1 million viewers in 2024.
Related: Trump's gay Kennedy Center president demands $1M from performer who canceled Christmas Eve show
The White House then claimed in December that the Kennedy Center's board voted unanimously to change its name to the "Trump-Kennedy Center," something that only Congress has the authority to do. U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, said afterwards that the change was forced through as she was prevented from speaking.
Several artists have canceled their upcoming performances in protest, most recently Philip Glass and Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz. Meanwhile, a petition calling on the center's donors to withhold funding has reached nearly 110,000 signatures.
Couch’s predecessor, Jeffrey Finn, resigned in September after nearly a decade in the position. He also did not give a reason for his departure.
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