Hollywood Media Downplay Trumpian Kennedy Center Honors
'Resistance' reporters turn back on Stallone, KISS, George Strait and more
Sylvester Stallone is a living legend. Full stop.
The same goes for George Strait, a country music icon with few peers.
Cynics can quibble with Gloria Gaynor, KISS and Michael Crawford, but no Kennedy Center Honors lineup is perfect.
What’s undeniable, though, is the news value of the event honoring these venerable artists. This year, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Variety all deemed the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors unnewsworthy as of Sunday morning.
Yet Variety managed to uncork an entire story based on a “Saturday Night Live” gag. The Hollywood Reporter weighed in on Timothée Chalamet’s latest marketing effort for “Marty Supreme.”
Can you guess why outlets dedicated to covering the entertainment world stood down?
President Donald Trump overhauled The Kennedy Center earlier this year. He also has taken a hands-on approach to this year’s KenCen gala, hosting the festivities and weighing in on the winners.
That’s the only logical explanation for the media treatment given to the august event.
Yes, other news outlets covered Saturday’s ceremonies. Some, like The Washington Post, put a negative spin on the events.
Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center is showier, emptier and more political
At least the far-Left outlet covered it. What excuse do the others have?
None. Except they are now unofficially part of “The Resistance,” a childish attempt to shape the news rather than report on it. It’s why you get farcical “hot takes” on culture from the assembled scribes, like how “One Battle After Another” isn’t the hard-Left screed you saw with your own eyes.
Deadline.com did report on this year’s Honorees, but the bulk of the story focused on President Trump, not the winners.