CeCe Winans is receiving some backlash online after she posted a video of her sister, Debbie Winans, performing at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
The gospel singer shared the video on her social media accounts, garnering some comments complimenting the vocals, and others condemning her support of the arts institution, which has been taken over and renamed by President Donald Trump.
“The Kennedy Honors were awesome! Great job Robert Deaton! And my baby sister @debbie.winans was incredible!!! 🔥 Praise God 🙌🏽” Winans wrote in the caption.
“when the current administration is trying to silence the arts, rename the center, deporting and tearing apart families – this is a time to show through your ministry how much of this is wrong. Instead you and your family lean into it. Very disappointing,” one comment said.
Winans also began trending on Threads, sparking debate as to whether her actions are cancelable.
“Christians love isolation more than influence. CeCe Winans supporting her sister at the Kennedy Center is not sin. Her sister sang gospel. CeCe didn’t compromise.Being in the room doesn’t mean you agree with everyone in it. Jesus didn’t avoid rooms — He changed them.Mind your walk,” one commenter on Threads wrote.
Another person wrote, “Reading this thread of people defending CeCe Winans and her family and I just… no. Saying ‘singing about Jesus is never off-limits anywhere’ completely misses the point. The right response isn’t accommodation; it’s refusal. It’s defiance. It’s saying no. Accepting the gig and taking the check isn’t neutral. It affirms state-sanctioned violence against marginalized people. This is no different than performing for the KKK or Hitler.”
Before Trump was reelected to office, a post supporting an event at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts would read as benign, but this year, the institution has become a battleground for MAGA and its dissenters. After being inaugurated, the president took special interest in the building, and by February, stacked the Kennedy Center board of trustees with his allies and got himself elected as the board chair.
The takeover has led to protests from creators like Issa Rae, Rihannon Giddens, and the producers of ‘Hamilton,’ who all canceled their shows at the venue, directly citing Trump’s involvement as the reason. Some artists, however, were found to be Trump allies as a result. Gloria Gaynor, who sings the disco hit “I Will Survive” was outed as MAGA donor after Trump assumed his new role, and she attended the Kennedy Center Honors this month to be awarded for her support of the GOP.
President Trump recently took his position at the Kennedy Center a step further, and rebranded it with a new name, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. This caused a new wave of reactions from politicians like Joyce Beatty, who is an ex officio member of the institution’s board. Beatty sued Trump this week to force the removal of his name, which has been added to the facade of the building.
The Kennedy Center annual Christmas Eve jazz concert was also canceled. The host of the show, Chuck Redd, confirmed to Associated Press that the decision was made due to Trump’s name change.
