BREAKING NEWS: Trump Announces Sly Stallone among Kennedy Center honourees
Sly Stallone Snags Kennedy Center Honors: From Rocky to Rambo, Hollywood’s Survivor Steps Into the Spotlight.
WASHINGTON — Nearly five decades after Rocky first ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Sylvester Stallone is running into another kind of history. The 78-year-old actor, writer, and director — who built an empire by playing America’s favorite underdogs and reluctant heroes — has been named one of this year’s Kennedy Center Honorees, cementing his place not only in Hollywood but in the nation’s cultural canon.
The announcement alone might have been news enough. But this is 2025, and nothing about the Kennedy Center Honors is unfolding quietly.
A Ceremony Reimagined
Breaking from tradition, President Donald J. Trump has placed himself at the center of the celebration, taking personal control of the proceedings after dismissing the previous Kennedy Center board. Declaring himself “98 percent involved” in selecting the honorees, Mr. Trump vowed to return the institution to what he calls “great talent, not woke politics.”
This year’s honorees reflect that ethos: alongside Stallone, Broadway veteran Michael Crawford, country star George Strait, disco icon Gloria Gaynor, and rock band KISS are set to be recognized. Yet it is Stallone — whose career has spanned nearly half a century and whose cinematic alter egos helped define American masculinity — who has become the headline.
The Underdog Who Wrote His Own Script
Stallone’s story has long read like a script fit for the big screen. In the mid-1970s, an unknown actor with $100 in his pocket and a head full of ideas wrote Rocky in three days and turned down a million-dollar studio offer because it didn’t allow him to star. When the film finally premiered in 1976, it became a cultural lightning bolt, winning three Academy Awards and setting the stage for one of the most enduring film franchises of all time.
From the boxing ring of Rocky to the battlefields of Rambo and, more recently, to the streaming success of Tulsa King, Stallone has embodied a distinctly American archetype: the survivor who refuses to quit. His films have grossed more than $7.5 billion worldwide, yet his public persona has remained remarkably constant — equal parts bruised knuckles and blue-collar grit.
Stallone on Trump: “In Awe”
While previous honorees in past years sometimes bristled at political overtones, Stallone has leaned in. He has praised Mr. Trump in striking terms, calling him “the second George Washington” and marveling at what he described as the president’s “awe-inspiring” political comeback. “Nobody in the world could have accomplished what he did,” Stallone said recently, brushing aside calls to boycott the event.
For Stallone, the honor is less about politics than about legacy — an acknowledgment that his work has outlasted the shifting tastes of Hollywood and the turbulence of American culture.
A Cultural Flashpoint
The Honors, however, have become a stage for a broader cultural clash. Several performers and productions, including Hamilton, have withdrawn from participation, citing the Kennedy Center’s new direction. Trump has promised sweeping renovations and reforms, pledging to strip “political correctness” from America’s cultural institutions. Critics argue this represents a betrayal of the center’s mission; supporters call it a long-overdue return to artistic fundamentals.
Amid the noise, Stallone remains unfazed. After decades of navigating box-office highs, critical lows, and countless reinventions, he seems perfectly at home in the storm.
Still Punching 🥊
If Stallone’s career has taught the public anything, it is that resilience ages well. Nearly 80, he is still starring, still producing, still turning personal mythology into popular entertainment. And now, with his name etched alongside America’s most celebrated artists, he adds another title to a career already overloaded with them: Kennedy Center Honoree.
Like Rocky charging up the steps, Stallone has never stopped moving forward. The lights may dim, the debates may rage, but for millions of fans — and now for the Kennedy Center itself — Sylvester Stallone is still the champ.