After President Donald Trump decided to fire several Kennedy Center board members and install himself as chairman earlier this month, ticket sales reportedly dropped by about 50 percent compared to the previous week, according to several Center employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity. If that weren’t enough, several artists set to perform at the Center have cancelled their appearances, including actor/comedian Issa Rae , who was hosting a sold-out event in March. Comedian W.
Kamau Bell spoke to The Washington Post about his decision to proceed with his appearance, which had been organized long before Trump’s coup; he told reporter Travis M. Andrews, “I’m the guy who met with the KKK. I do a different calculus than everyone else.
” Author Louise Penny, meanwhile, pulled out of a planned event at the Center, taking to Facebook to explain: “As soon as what amounts to a coup happened with President Trump, there was absolutely no way I was going to do it. It was a painful decision, but it was not difficult.” Lynne Marie Stewart, a comedian and actress best known for appearing in Pee-wee’s Playhouse and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia , has died at 78, according to a report.
Stewart’s death was confirmed Friday to The Hollywood Reporter by a spokesperson for her former sketch troupe, the Groundlings. A cause of death was not disclosed. An industry veteran, Stewart got her big break as Miss Yvonne (“the most beautiful woman in Puppet Land”) alongsi.