Some performers canceled their Kennedy Center shows. Here’s why W. Kamau Bell didn’t

Several entertainers have severed ties with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since President Trump assumed chairmanship of the organization.

W. Kamau Bell is not one of them.

The Emmy Award-winning stand-up comedian and host of the CNN series United Shades of America chose not to cut ties or cancel his scheduled shows at the Kennedy Center, which marked the start of his 10-city tour across the country.

Grey’s Anatomy creator and How to Get Away with Murder executive producer Shonda Rhimes announced her departure from the Kennedy Center’s board last week. Rhimes had been on the board of the center since 2013 and was appointed by former President Barack Obama. Actress and producer Issa Rae, who created and starred in HBO’s Insecure, announced on Instagram that she would be canceling her sold-out appearance scheduled for March.

Trump appointed a new board of directors that includes second lady Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Elaine Chao, a former U.S. secretary of labor and the wife of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

The president wants to move away from performances that he views as “woke culture,” which Trump believes the center has focused on in the past, according to reporting from CBS News.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Also, let’s remember, the Kennedy Center is in a city called Washington, D.C. So as much as MAGA runs the White House, maybe they don’t run Washington, D.C. And Washington, D.C., has always been a bright blue, progressive place. If you want to move the White House to Branson, Mo., understandably you would program the Kennedy Center in a different way.

Then there’s a part of me that knows my audience — specifically in times of stress and pain and controversy — actually wants to hear from me. And some of it is about showing up and being my full self, as my mom taught me. As the Bay Area raised me to be. As my — as I want my kids to see me being in that space at that time.

People say stay in your lane and we go, “No, no. Know your lane.” What can you do in the lane that you’re already in that can help make it easier on somebody who can’t do the work that you can do? That’s where it starts. People are like, “I’m going to go back to law school.” No, no, no. What are you doing now? “I’m going to start a noofit.” No, no, no. What are you doing now? And how can you start making that lane more equitable, more inclusive, more diverse where you are?