‘Les Misérables’ Cast Members Plan To Boycott During Trump’s Kennedy Center Visit

Roughly a dozen members of a touring company of the musical “Les Misérables” say they plan to sit out an upcoming performance that President Donald Trump is expected to attend.

According to CNN, “at least 10 to 12 performers” won’t be taking the Kennedy Center stage for the June 11 evening show, when Trump will be in the audience. Sources told the outlet that principal stars and ensemble cast members are planning to skip the performance.

The president’s appearance also coincides with a planned Kennedy Center fundraiser, for which sponsorship levels are reportedly selling for up to $2 million.

News of the “Les Mis” boycott drew a scathing response from Richard Grenell, whom Trump appointed as the Kennedy Center’s interim director in February as part of a controversial purge of the organization.

“Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed,” Grenell’s statement read, Entertainment Weekly reported. “In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.”

“Les Misérables,” one of the most successful stage musicals of the 1980s and ’90s, is based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel depicting the Paris Uprising of 1832. The debut production opened on Broadway in 1987 and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In 2013, Anne Hathaway won an Oscar for her performance in the film adaptation, which also starred Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman.

Grenell’s remarks come just days after he blasted “American Idol” for enlisting “Hamilton” actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, a longtime Trump critic, as a guest judge for the show’s two-episode Disney Night event, slated to air next week.

In addition to his theater credentials, Miranda wrote songs for the Disney films “Moana” and “Encanto” and appeared in the live-action film “Mary Poppins Returns” with Emily Blunt.

In February, Trump made himself chairman of the Kennedy Center ― traditionally a bipartisan institution ― and fired its long-term president, Deborah Rutter, along with 18 board members former President Joe Biden had appointed.

News of the overhaul prompted the touring production of “Hamilton” to scrap its eight-week run at the Kennedy Center in 2026.

Since then, Trump has continued to ramp up his attacks on arts organizations nationwide. Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts began canceling grant offers to numerous arts groups after Trump proposed eliminating the agency entirely in his next budget.