{"id":559417,"date":"2026-06-29T05:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/559417\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T05:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:45:12","slug":"bill-maher-claims-mark-twain-prize-at-kennedy-center-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/559417\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Maher Claims Mark Twain Prize at Kennedy Center Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBehind the billowy facade-covering tarp that yet still covers the original name of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, the Center\u2019s Concert Hall lit up in laughter during Bill Maher<\/a>\u2019s remarks as he received the 27th Mark Twain Prize<\/a> for American Humor on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe prize, named in honor of the great American humorist, was awarded at a gala performance that featured a set of Maher\u2019s friends in politics and comedy, including Whitney Cummings, Louis C.K., Woody Harrelson, Arianna Huffington,\u00a0Stephen A. Smith, and Jay Leno, rounded out with a live performance by John Mellencamp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMaher and his fellow comedians ripped jokes and traded kind words against the backdrop of the dramatic controversies swirling around the event (and storied institution). Maher had been named as the recipient of the prestigious award earlier this year; however, in March, The Atlantic reported<\/a> that the Trump administration might not have been in favor of the choice. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that \u201cThis is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Kennedy Center soon after confirmed that Maher indeed would be honored with the prize. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m kinda like Mark Twain,\u201d Maher joked on the red carpet before the show. On stage, Maher spoke to his ability to parse social discourse and current events, honing his craft on HBO, and now in front of the eager live audience looking for him to skewer the administration in real time \u2014 which he largely shied away from.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead, he spent much of his time philosophizing about his impact and oeuvre, sticking it to those in power regardless of where they might sit or who they represent, and thanking \u201cthe haters\u201d \u2014 even though it might have caused him to win just one of the 42 Emmy nominations he\u2019s received. Maher also styled himself after Toto from The Wizard of Oz, saying that he \u201cpulls back the curtain and exposes anyone who is a phony.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter receiving the award from friend, fellow comedian, and fellow recipient Leno, Maher was briefly shouted down by a man who sounded just like President Trump, the comedian and impersonator Matt Friend, who quickly joined Maher on stage as the two traded\u00a0 jokes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe most pointed barbs came from opener Cummings, who kicked off the program with a light roast of Maher and Trump. \u201cBIll has been in a very committed, very toxic relationship with the United States. He\u2019s a warrior for free speech \u2014 especially when someone is mid-sentence,\u201d she said. She also suggested that given President Trump is Kennedy Center Chair, that future audiences would \u201cenjoy a three-month run of \u201c\u2018White Hamilton\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMaher was also preceded by close friend Harrelson, who took a more complimentary tone. He also mentioned the weed dispensary he co-owns with Maher and the quality of its product. Marijuana was a through line among the other speakers, like ESPN\u2019s Smith, who spoke about appearing on Maher\u2019s podcast high, and Leno, who spoke directly to Maher: \u201cYou are what you smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond the event controversy, the future of the center hangs precariously in the balance. Trump, who remarkably still serves as the center\u2019s chairman, had attempted to amend the institution\u2019s name to include his own, and announced July 5 as the date the venue would close for major renovations. In a filing in May, a federal judge lambasted the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to change the name, calling it illegal, and blocked the administration from closing the Kennedy Center for the two-year renovation. The center has appealed the decision. The calendar after the Twain prize event remains scant, counting just one more event in the Concert Hall, and a handful of free classic outdoor film showings on the lawn. There are no scheduled events in August and beyond.<\/p>\n

\n\tCommerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose wife sits on the Kennedy Center board and who stood glittering by his side, said that the Board should ultimately decide the fate of the building, but that Trump might play a role as well. \u201cThe president is not only commander in chief but he\u2019s the builder in chief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThough only an impersonator joined Maher on stage, the real Trump and Maher have a long history. In 2013, Trump filed a lawsuit against Maher for breach of contract around an off-color comment on The Tonight Show. The two also met at a White House dinner in 2025 facilitated by Kid Rock. Earlier this year, Trump posted on Truth Social that it was a \u201ctotal waste of time\u201d to meet Maher. And on Friday night, Maher welcomed Vice President JD Vance to his HBO talk show, Real Time. While Maher noted that he could vote for either a Democrat or Republican in 2028, he also castigated Vance for Trump\u2019s refusal to concede in 2020.<\/p>\n

\n\tMaher got his start as a standup comedian in 1979, he rose to prominence by becoming the host of Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and ABC from 1993 to 2002. He has hosted Real Time for more than 20 years. He\u2019s not a stranger to awards either, having a stash of 42 Emmys nominations. Maher has also written five books, including most recently, What This Comedian Said Will Shock You. And in 2022, Maher took himself to new media and launched a podcast, that often goes viral for the wrong reasons, Club Random with Bill Maher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite Maher\u2019s penchant for political guests on his various platforms, a sole senator was in attendance on Sunday, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. On the red carpet, Fetterman acknowledged similar infrastructure-related issues around the city. \u201cI don\u2019t know why people were talking about algae\u2026 things are much more important to focus on than the name on building here. And I would never boycott [the center].\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAside from Maher and Leno, other comedians who have received the lifetime achievement award include O\u2019Brien last year, as well as Dave Chappelle, Will Ferrell, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Ellen DeGeneres, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jon Stewart.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mark Twain Prize ceremony will be streamed on Netflix on July 21. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Behind the billowy facade-covering tarp that yet still covers the original name of the John F. Kennedy Memorial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[16139,18,117,19,17,239142,128],"class_list":["post-559417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bill-maher","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mark-twain-prize","tag-tv"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116831815333291347","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}