Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kennedy Center Honors Goes on Without Trump: Stevie Wonder, Meryl Streep, Luke Bryan, Rob Reiner Perform for Inductees

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The Kennedy Center Honors went on just fine without Donald Trump sitting in the presidential box. Honorees Norman Lear, Lionel Richie, Gloria Estefan, LLCoolJ and Carmen deLavallade got the full star treatment from famous friends and relatives.

None other than Meryl Streep spoke for deLavallade, who was once her teacher at Yale. Famed ballerina Misty Copeland also gave deLavallade, a famed teacher and performer and widow of Geoffrey Holder, a toast.

Lionel Richie was given a tribute by his daughter Nicole Richie. (Brenda Richie, Nicole’s mother and Lionel’s ex, who famous beat up Lionel and one of girlfriends after finding them in bed together, was spotted. Nice to see they made up.) Stevie Wonder, Leona Lewis, and Luke Bryan performed for Lionel. Stevie sang “Easy,” Luke did “Hello,” and Leona finished it off with “All Night Long.”

Chaka Khan sang for Gloria Estefan, as did her talented daughter, Emily Estefan. Run DMC did the honors for LL Cool J, as did Queen Latifah. Rob Reiner spoke for Norman Lear, and there were clips from Lear’s shows like “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.”

Also seen at the KC tonight: Kenny Rogers, who had one of his biggest hits with “Lady,” written by Richie. Some local politico types like Rand Paul, Steny Hoyer, and Valerie Jarrett were on hand as well.

The Kennedy Center Honors airs on CBS later this month.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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