Bill Maher, the comedian and longtime political talk-show host, will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, to be awarded on June 28 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the center announced on Thursday.
With a caustic wit, Mr. Maher, 70, has been a fixture of the talk-show world on television for more than 30 years. His show “Politically Incorrect” started on Comedy Central in 1993 and then ran on ABC from 1997 to 2002. The next year, he began “Real Time With Bill Maher” on HBO, where it remains.
His show usually features a panel of high-profile guests debating political and social topics in informal terms, with Mr. Maher offering biting commentary throughout. He has been a frequent critic of President Trump, though he has just as often ridiculed the left — first mocking the “political correct” discourse of the ’90s, and now “woke” culture.
“Thank you to the Mark Twain people: I just had the award explained to me, and apparently it’s like an Emmy, except I win,” Mr. Maher said in a statement. “I’d just like to say that it is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who’s been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.”
The Kennedy Center has been a source of controversy in Mr. Trump’s second term. The institution has been recast as the Trump-Kennedy Center and is to soon be remade under a renovation project that will force its closing, for an anticipated two years — all actions that are being challenged in the courts.
Even with the award there was an issue as the White House initially denied a report in The Atlantic last week that said the prize was going to Mr. Maher. “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in response to The Atlantic’s report.
The White House could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Maher has received 42 Emmy nominations throughout his career, most for his talk show and a few comedy specials. His only win, in 2014, was as an executive producer of “Vice” on HBO.
Previous winners of the Mark Twain award include Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Bob Newhart. Last year, the award went to Conan O’Brien, and the ceremony included many comedians mocking Mr. Trump and his administration.
Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry, has been writing for The Times for more than 20 years.
The post The Kennedy Center Is Giving Bill Maher the Mark Twain Prize appeared first on New York Times.
