Several artists canceled scheduled appearances at the Kennedy Center after US President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facility, and jazz supergroup the Cookers pulled out of a planned New Year’s concert.

The new round of cancellations after Trump put his name on the building follows an earlier backlash from artists in the spring. After Trump fired the Kennedy Center’s board of directors and appointed himself president of the institution in February, performer Issa Rae and producers Hamilton canceled engagements, while musicians Ben Folds and Renee Fleming withdrew from advisory roles.

New board voted to add Trump’s name to the buildingformerly known as John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, earlier this month. The building’s full name is now the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

The Cookers, the jazz supergroup that performed together for almost two decades, announced their retirement from Jazz New Year’s Eve on their website, saying “the decision was made very quickly” and acknowledging the frustration of those who may have planned to attend.

The group didn’t mention the building’s renaming or the Trump administration, but said that when they return to perform, they want to make sure “the room can celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it,” reiterating a commitment to “playing music that reaches out to divisions rather than deepening them.”

However, one of the members of the group spoke openly about the renaming. On Saturday, saxophonist Billy Harper said in comments posted on Jazz Stage’s Facebook page that he “would never even consider performing at a venue that bears the name (and is controlled by the kind of board) that represents blatant racism and the deliberate destruction of African-American music and culture. The same music that I have dedicated my life to creating and advancing.”

According to the White House, Trump’s board of directors approved the renaming. Harper said the plaque, “like the name displayed on the building itself, represents a mentality and a practice that I have always stood against. And I still do, today more than ever.”

The jazz group’s decision comes after several other artists pulled out of performances in recent days. Folk singer Kristy Lee published on social networks she canceled a show scheduled for January, saying that performing there would mean losing her integrity.

Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company, too he said on social media on Monday that he would no longer perform as scheduled in April because adding the Trump name to the building was too far.

Richard Grenell, a Trump ally whom the president tapped to lead the Kennedy Center after ousting the previous leadership, published on Monday night at Xsaying: “The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left management.”

In a statement to The Associated Press, Grenell said Tuesday that “the last-minute cancellations prove that they have always been unwilling to perform for everyone — even those with whom they disagree politically.”

He added that the Kennedy Center is “inundated with inquiries from real artists who are willing to perform for anyone and who reject political statements in their art.”

Kennedy Center officials did not immediately say whether the entity would pursue legal action against the jazz group, as Grenell said it would after musician Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance.

Redd cited the renaming of the building for his withdrawal. Grenell said he would seek US$1 million in damages from Redd for what he called a “political stunt.”

Former US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center a living memorial to him. The scientists said any changes to the building’s name would need congressional approval; the law specifically prohibits the governing council from turning the center into a monument to anyone else and from putting someone else’s name on the exterior of the building.