The curtain may have come down for President Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center, but the tarp stays up for now.

Matt Floca, executive director and chief operating officer of the performing arts venue, told a federal court Saturday (June 13) that the institution had complied with an order to remove Trump’s name from the facade. In a filing, Floca said the board of trustees and the center had removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”

But for onlookers who have gathered on the plaza in front of the center over the past day hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power, it was virtually impossible to see whether the signage was gone. A tarp hung over the scaffolding constructed for workers to perform that task. It was unclear when the tarp might be removed to reveal the original lettering that had endured for decades: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

A reporter was able to peer through a slight opening in the tarp, which was pulled tightly against the wall, and saw that the letters for Trump’s name were no longer affixed to the building.

By the end, the Kennedy Center’s leadership had dug in against a federal judge’s order to erase Trump’s name from the building. Two courts rejected the institution’s last-minute request to keep retain Trump’s name pending an appeal. After severe thunderstorms raked Washington on Friday evening, the Kennedy Center sought one more extension before complying with a noon Saturday deadline.

Those who pushed for the scrubbing of Trump’s name were in a celebratory mood. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio member of the board who sued to remove references to the president from the building and the center’s operations, was spotted in the plaza late Friday and Saturday morning. She posted a video to social media that purported to show her performing the “Trump dance” in one of the Kennedy Center’s great halls.

“Today’s victory is the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people,” Beatty said in a statement. “The rule of law prevailed, and that is worth celebrating.”

Leo Bartholomaus, a recent graduate of Syracuse University who lives in Virginia, said he was walking by the Kennedy Center on Friday afternoon after visiting the National Mall to see events related to this weekend’s UFC match at the White House. He said he was not happy that Trump added his name to the building.

“My grandmother had a big love of the arts,” he said. “I’ve been here to see The Lion King. I wasn’t a fan of Donald Trump putting his name on it. I thought it was better as the Kennedy Center.”

The removal of Trump’s name closes one of the more unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of the slain president, Democrat John F. Kennedy. At what is typically one of the few relatively nonpartisan spaces in Washington, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his second term.

Though he rarely discussed the Kennedy Center during his 2024 campaign, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution’s leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building.

While the removal of his name marks a setback for Trump, he is moving forward with plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation’s capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodeled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, moves that could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Indeed as Trump’s name was being removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence but also coinciding with Trump’s birthday on Sunday.

Back at the Kennedy Center, there are many questions about the institution’s future. The same May court decision that ordered Trump’s name to be removed from the building also blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations that was set to begin next month.

The Kennedy Center’s calendar for the weeks ahead include performances of Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Bluey’s Big Play. Comedian Bill Maher is to be awarded the Mark Twain Award for American Humor during a ceremony on June 28.

But little is scheduled for the stages beyond that and, after substantially reducing staff, it is unclear how quickly the Kennedy Center could build out a robust performance list. Trump, angered by the court’s order to remove his name, has said he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns.

In its unsuccessful appeal on Friday seeking a pause on the order removing Trump’s name, the Kennedy Center’s leadership argued, in terms that seemed similar to the president’s speech patterns, that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

The institution also suggested that the president’s name could return to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins its appeal.

If the court denied the venue’s request for a pause, the Kennedy Center argued it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”

As usual, Charles Barkley doesn’t care what anybody thinks.

Barkley appeared on The Dan Patrick Show this week and while talking about this viral Cardi B joke he made during halftime of Game 3 of the NBA Finals earlier this week was asked if management ever tells him to chill out.

“I’m hoping they fire me,” Barkley quipped. “I got six or seven years left on my contract that they know I’ve got no chance of doing. I would love for them to fire me and have to pay me for the next six or seven years. I was talking to my agent. I was like, ‘What can I do to get fired, but they’d have to pay me for the whole six, seven years?’ I would love to get fired, I’m not gon’ lie.”

Adding, “There’s zero chance that I’mma be working the next six, seven years. Zero. So I know if they fired me, they’d have to pay me all of those years. And I heard through the grapevine that I make great money; so thank goodness for that.”

He then continued by saying that people that can’t take a joke can kiss him on the you know what. “C’mon, man. People can’t take a joke. They can kiss my a–,” he said defiantly. I appreciate and love all the support I’ve gotten all these years, but anybody [that] thinks everybody likes them, they a fool. So, if people don’t like me or don’t have a sense of humor, they can kiss my ass. My whole a–, not just one cheek, the whole a–.”

Earlier this week, on Monday (June 8), the broadcast showed a clip of Cardi’s halftime performance at Madison Square Garden during the NBA Finals, Chuck joked about the Bronx rapper’s cleavage saying, “I don’t know if those Bs. Those might be Cardi Ds. I’m pretty sure those aren’t Bs. She’s got the wrong initials,” which prompted laughter and his co-host Ernie Johnson to say “I don’t know who said that, but I know it wasn’t me.”

Fortunately for Chuck, Cardi is one of those people that could take a joke and retweeted a fan account that highlighted that the term “Cardi D” was trending on X.

You can check out the clip below.

Peso Pluma wasn’t going to let Mexico’s win in its first match of the 2026 World Cup 2026 go uncelebrated.

On Thursday (June 11) La Doble P joined soccer fans at the Adidas 2026 World Cup Opening Watch Party at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, where he headlined the massive show. Before taking the stage to perform, the Jalisco native sat down with Billboard to discuss Mexico’s 3-0 victory against South Africa earlier that day, his enthusiasm for the team and his most recent success on the charts.

The artist described himself as euphoric and expressed pride in wearing the jersey while watching the match: “Mexicans are the most bada–, man,” said Pluma. When asked what he wished for the team as it prepares to face South Korea in its next match on June 18, he replied, “May God bless them and may they give it their all, so that this time we’re in that [final] game. And we’re going to be supporting from [the] outside, as it should be.”

The Grammy winner also admitted that he has high hopes for his country’s team during this World Cup. “Well, [I’m] really happy because we debuted on the right foot. Mexico’s going to win. Mexico has to win. Attract it — the law of attraction — Mexico’s going to win,” he said.

The artist also weighed in on the current success of his song “Daño,” from his 2026 album, Dinastía, which peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs and is currently sitting at No. 9.

“We are very happy, because it’s a song we all really like from the album,” Pluma said. “It’s a song from Dinastía that stood out. The fans in Mexico really liked it and also here in the United States. And it’s a song that throughout the whole tour, [fans] cried and sang and yelled the lyrics to, and that fills our soul.”

Watch Peso Pluma’s interview with Billboard here:

Ariana Grande has a major problem with Donald Trump’s White House. The pop star slammed the administration for using 2024’s “Bye” in a TikTok video promoting ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents making arrests.

“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F— ICE,” Grande commented. Billboard has confirmed with reps for the pop star that the comment on the video was indeed legit, however, the comment is no longer visible “for some reason.”

As of press time, the clip — which was posted on Tuesday — shows a video compilation of ICE agents making arrests and currently doesn’t have any sound.

“We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Variety and TMZ in a statement.

“Bye” is from 2024’s Eternal Sunshine album and peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Grande has spoken about and supported the anti-ICE movement in the past. She sported an ICE Out pin at the 2026 Golden Globes. Last September, she condemned the Trump administration and asked Trump voters if their opinion had changed in a post to Instagram.

“I want to check in with trump voters. I have one very genuine question,” she wrote. “it’s been 250 days. now that immigrants have been violently torn from their families and communities have been destroyed, now that trans people have been blamed for virtually everything and live in fear, now that free speech is on the brink of collapse for us all — has your life gotten better?”

White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai responded to Grande’s post at the time in a statement to TMZ using her song titles to clap back at the singer.

“Save your tears, Ariana, because President Trump’s actions ended Joe Biden’s inflation crisis and are bringing in trillions in new investments,” Desai claimed. “He even signed an executive order just like magic that paved the way for the FTC to crack down on Ticketmaster for ripping off Ariana Grande’s concert-going fans. Get well soon, Ariana!”

Grande is far from the only pop star to speak out against ICE, as Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter have all slammed the Trump administration’s deployment of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On the music side, Grande’s petal lead single “Hate That I Made You Love Me” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which gave her a 10th chart-topper. Petal arrives on July 31.