Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, Kiss Set for Kennedy Center Honors Amid Trump Overhaul

The first honorees for the revamped Kennedy Center Honors have been unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump, who is also the new chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

This year’s honorees include Rocky star and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone; disco-era singer Gloria Gaynor; the rock band Kiss; Michael Crawford, the British star of Phantom of the Opera; and country crooner and songwriter George Strait.

Stallone was earlier named by Trump as one of his ambassadors to Hollywood. “He’s a very special guy. A real talent, never been given credit for the talent,” Trump added about the Hollywood actor during an hourlong press conference Wednesday.

The president also recalled Crawford making his Broadway debut in 1967. “I was there. I shouldn’t say that. But I was there. Seems like a long time ago,” Trump added.

Trump, when answering media questions, insisted he was “98 percent involved” in the selection process of the Kennedy Center honorees. “I had a couple wokesters. No, these are great people. It’s very different than it used to be,” he added.  

The first batch of Kennedy Center honorees named follows the the John F. Kennedy Center having been retooled after Trump took control of the institution at the start of his second term.

Trump fired its entire board, then replaced them with loyalists including Susie Wiles, his chief of staff; Second Lady Usha Vance; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s wife, Allison; and Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham.