The Kennedy Center Honors aired last night, and the two biggest names were missing from the event: Donald Trump and Melania Trump. It’s tradition for the president and first lady to attend.

The first couple previously announced they weren’t going to attend this year after its honorees protested, saying they hoped their absence would allow the “honorees to celebrate without any political distraction.”

“No distractions! This is about the arts,” rapper-actor LL Cool J said, according to The Washington Post. “It doesn’t help for me to get up on a soapbox and be divisive.”

“It’s about the art tonight — it’s about Lionel and Gloria. It’s about Carmen and Norman,” he added of his fellow honorees, Lear, de Lavallade, and musicians Lionel Richie and Gloria Estefan.