I wonder what LL, Norman Lear, & Gloria Estefan gonna think about sitting in the balcony with Trump, especially Norman.

MickyDolenz said:

MickyDolenz said:

I wonder what LL, Norman Lear, & Gloria Estefan gonna think about sitting in the balcony with Trump, especially Norman.

Norman Lear is not attending... hopefully LL and Lionel will do the same. I am sure Gloria and her husband will be there with bells on

getxxxx said:

Norman Lear is not attending... hopefully LL and Lionel will do the same. I am sure Gloria and her husband will be there with bells on

I don't really see Lionel rebelling. He seems like a friendly with everybody type to me, sort of like Sammy Davis Jr. That's why I didn't name him. I think Lionel was friends with Donald in the past, I don't know if they have any relationship now. Now if it was Kid Rock or Ted Nugent, they'd be happy to sit with Donald.

Propers to LL Cool J but I still wonder which previous Honoree(s) threw his name in the mix for the class of 2017....CBS & The Kennedy Center board have a long relationship, it makes you wonder if CBS played a role...

Don't forget The President of the United States gets to pick ONE honoree every year during his administration. I wonder if the Kennedy board asked Donald or if they left him all the way out of the process this year?...LOL...

The Presidential Medal of Freedom Class of 2017 will be named in November...It'll be interesting to see who The Trump Team will have to BEG to accept the honor...

ReddBlitz said:

^^^Definitely!! Next up is to have LL inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame.

Hopefully, he is deserving but the RHOF has snubbed so many Black legends and women that are deserving. I just don't take the hall seriously at this point. I mean Green Day is in for crying out loud!

Kennedy Center Announces First Honorees of Trump Administration
By Emily Baumgaertner Aug. 3, 2017 New York Times

Gloria Estefan at the Tony Awards in 2016. Ms. Estefan, a seven-time Grammy Award winner, said she looked forward to speaking with President Trump because it was “the perfect opportunity to make clear and express” her views. Credit Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — In the first Kennedy Center Honors during the Trump administration, one awardee, Norman Lear, the television producer known for progressive political activism, said he would forgo the White House reception in advance of his award for lifelong artistic achievement.

Another honoree, Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American singer, said she would take a different approach and would attend the reception — as an opportunity to tell President Trump of the contributions immigrants have made to the nation.

In an era of immigration crackdowns, racial tensions and budgetary battles over eliminating arts endowments, this year’s Kennedy Center honorees appear to be divided on how best to respond to the honor.

The 40th annual award recipients also include the first hip-hop honoree, LL Cool J, the musician and record producer Lionel Richie and the dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade.

In keeping with tradition, Mr. Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, will host a White House reception in December for honorees before appearing alongside them at one of Washington’s red-carpet events, the Kennedy Center Honors gala.

In an interview, Mr. Lear said he had already informed the Kennedy Center that he would forgo the White House reception, a rare move in the Honors’ 39-year history.

“This is a presidency that has chosen to neglect totally the arts and humanities — deliberately defund them — and that doesn’t rest pleasantly with me,” said Mr. Lear, the creative force behind pivotal sitcoms, including “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” that created political conversation in American households. He also founded People for the American Way, a nonprofit organization opposing right-wing extremism.

Ms. Estefan, a seven-time Grammy Award winner, said she looked forward to speaking with Mr. Trump because it was “the perfect opportunity to make clear and express” her views. Ms. Estefan is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and her pursuit of the American dream is the subject of the Broadway musical “On Your Feet!”

“Mr. President, as a proud immigrant of this country, it’s very important for me that you see the wonderful contributions we have made,” Ms. Estefan said she planned to say at the White House reception. “We have seen a lot of anti-immigrant backlash this year, so for us, it may hold even more beauty than for someone who has lived here all their lives. To get this kind of award is so American.”

LL Cool J’s selection as the first hip-hop artist to receive the award follows the announcement in 2016 of the Kennedy Center’s first artistic director for hip-hop culture, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. The choices help counter longtime criticism over the lack of genre diversity at the Honors.

“To knock the door down for a new genre — the word is just ‘dope!’” LL Cool J said. “To be able to come from the corner of Farmers Boulevard in Queens, banging on a garbage can, all the way to the Kennedy Center Honors, that’s a long journey.”

LL Cool J’s political commentary traces back to his 2008 “Exit 13” album that included the hit “Mr. President,” in which he expressed sympathy toward undocumented immigrants and questioned the legitimacy of the Iraq war. In his 2010 book, he voiced admiration for former President Barack Obama.

Still, he said he never considered skipping the events.

“I don’t have any stunts planned. I’m not saying I need to be there backslapping and all of that, but this time, this one ain’t about him,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump. “I’m not going to block my blessings or let the political divide stop me from embracing my art. I’m banking on the goodness and the optimism of people to say: ‘You know what? I get it. Let this guy have this honor.’”

Mr. Richie, one of only two songwriters in history to have had No. 1 records for nine consecutive years, wrote “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson to raise money, and awareness, to combat famine in Africa. Mr. Richie has known Mr. Trump for over a decade.

“In the world of entertainment, I’ve got to tell you, Mr. Trump has been front and center,” Mr. Richie said. “That’s just what he does. You can’t miss him! Listen, when you say, do you want to sit next to the president or not — are you kidding me? He’s the president!”

This year’s fifth honoree, Ms. de Lavallade, was previously on the Honors’ advisory artist committee for decades alongside her husband, the actor Geoffrey Holder, who died in 2014. She recalled their annual tradition of selecting two new dresses for the weekend-long affair and said her return as a widowed honoree was “bittersweet.”

“I’ve been there with many, many presidents — some people have liked, some people haven’t,” she said. “I know this particular occasion is really over the moon, but we have to band together.” She laughed when asked whether having three African-Americans among the honorees in the Trump White House will be of note.

“President Trump always talks about stars, stars, stars,” Ms. de Lavallade said. “Well, this time, we are the stars.”

It has yet to be seen whether the president’s role will deter tribute performers from this year’s gala, a flashback to the January inauguration at which the planning committee had difficulty signing high-profile celebrities willing to take the stage. Despite his roots in Hollywood, Mr. Trump has been known to criticize mainstream celebrities such as Meryl Streep after the 2017 Golden Globes.

The Kennedy Center Honors gala will be broadcast on CBS on Dec. 26.

Carmen de Lavallade & Wesley Fata - Dear Quincy 1968

Lear, who opposed Trump through the election, is a Kennedy Center Honor recipient. He also about why he decided to skip the annual whoWhen the question of his reason for skipping a reception at the White House ahead of the Kennedy Center Honors.

“The Kennedy Center is about the arts and humanities. I’m somebody who believes when the world is safe for everybody — and the arts have played a large part in that. A presidency that turns its back on the arts and refuses to fund the arts and humanities, I can’t imagine wishing to go there,” Lear said.

“It’s almost not political” he adds.”I understand everything else going on, but the turning of the presidency’s back on the arts and humanities — that I can’t honor with a visit.”

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

Just came across this and was perplexed. In one hand, I admire his contributions to Hip Hop and his longevity ( I thought he should have been RRHOF this year, but I digress), but there are other artists in other genres who should/could have been recognized before LL. Check it out: [url]http://www.complex.com/music/2017/08/ll-cool-j-first-hip-hop-artist-kennedy-center-honors[url] [Edited 8/3/17 17:37pm] [Edited 8/3/17 17:38pm]

I feel the same about a whole slew of artists who have been inducted into the RRHOF.

As far as LL, I don't know much about the Kennedy Center Honors but I think LL is deserving of some kind of recognition. As far as I know, he is the only hip-hop artist from the mid 80's who still actively records and he has gone on to amazing success in Hollywood. For a hip-hop artist to have this kind of longevity is commedable.

http://thehill.com/blogs/...-reception

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Carmen de Lavallade has announched she is boycotting the ceremony.

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Because Ladies Love Cool James and he's probably the only one that will definitely show up.

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I wonder which songs he will do, probably "Mama Said Knock You Out" and "Doin' It". Maybe he will cart out Boyz II Men and they can do the a medly of "Hey Lover" and their recent GEICO commercial song about medication side effects. Maybe a dramatic stage performance of a key scene from NCIS or In The House.

[Edited 8/18/17 7:11am]

StrangeButTrue said:

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Because Ladies Love Cool James and he's probably the only one that will definitely show up.

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I wonder which songs he will do, probably "Mama Said Knock You Out" and "Doin' It". Maybe he will cart out Boyz II Men and they can do the a medly of "Hey Lover" and their recent GEICO commercial song about medication side effects. Maybe a dramatic stage performance of a key scene from NCIS or In The House.

[Edited 8/18/17 7:11am]

The Honoree usually does not PERFORM there is a TRIBUTE done to them. Gloria Estfan will be there.

Ahh correct sorry, I wonder who will tribute LL Cool J maybe Migos, Ted Nugent, and Azaelia Banks. Rumors are that Lionel and Gloria will cancel/boycott. Gloria shows up for anything but I know she doesn't agree with the big orange fella. Lionel has to sell those twenty dollar groupons for his tour with Mariah Carey.

A couple of things - I'm tired of everyone getting an honor by every organization with a business license, a 5013c, a tax exempt status, or a certificate of fucking occupancy. Nothing is special anymore.

Having said that, the Kennedy Honors are often entertaining and fun to watch. The Mark Twain award is especially delightful since it's about comedians.

Regarding this one specifically: If Trump attends, I'd really like to see all of the honorees boycott. There would be no show, or if the show went on, those empty seats would say a lot. Would Trump sit there alone? What if he decided against it, and the honorees showed up at the last minute?

Either way, I don't think they should attend if he's there. These artists really need to consider what is going on here. This is political this time (but really every time to some extent). If Gloria shows up and sits next to Trump or even thanks Trump in a speech, at this point it would kill whatever career she has left. Her Broadway show would probably suffer as well, and that's income. Lionel is still making tour dates, etc., and it could hurt him if he showed up. He's the black Mario Lopez, so I'll leave that right there. Carman is too classy to muddle in that, and Norman is too outspoken to sit there & not get to speak the way he'd want.

But I'd loooooove to see someone say something directly to Trump on TV in front of a national audience and scold and scorn him, and put his ego in check for a minute. God, he'd got on a Twitter rant, but we all know it'd be more bullshit because we saw it happen. He can't spin a story that everyone witnessed, despite his best efforts on his "glorious twitter account" (his words).

Now Gloria is back peddling about attending... So that leave Lionel and LL to make a yes or no decision.

Love L.L.!

Donald Trump Won't Attend...ling Stone

Donald Trump Won't Attend Kennedy Center Honors Ceremony

"The president and first lady have decided not to participate to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction," White House says

translation: Trump is trying to save himself the embarassment if any of these celebrities refuse to attend.He's so unpopular and despised by so many people.Gloria has already said that she plans to give him an earful over his immigration views,lol.

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[Edited 8/19/17 7:48am]

I figured Trump would bow out. I really couldn't imagine him sitting in the audience with that fake, silly smile and pretending to enjoy himself while the country is falling apart.