Chaos, corruption, ‘astronomical’ prices: Fmr. Kennedy Center curator gives inside account

A former Kennedy Center curator recounts cronyism and chaos over the course of his 10 months working under Richard Grenell in an interview with MS NOW’s Jackie Alemany. Among the red flags he witnessed: after a decision was made to start selling sponsorships of the center’s lounges, Grenell aggressively pitched those in attendance at an Oct. 7 commemoration to donate money if they wanted to prevent the Israeli lounge from being given away to a new donor.

In his words, “Grenell essentially wagged a finger in the face of all those who were gathered to observe a very solemn, tragic event. And he wagged a finger at them and said… if you want this to remain the Israeli lounge, then you need to pony up the money to do so. And reaction in the room, I was personally mortified because my remarks had to follow his in talking to people after the event.”