Kennedy Center Honors Bill Maher With Its Own Future Unknown

[lostincalifornia]

In what was once expected to be its last major event before a two-year closure, the Kennedy Center on Sunday will award Bill Maher the Mark Twain Prize for Humor, an annual event that is taking place even as questions swirl about the future of the arts institution President Donald Trump took over at the start of his second term.

Maher, a longtime Trump critic who made peace of sorts with the Republican president at a White House dinner last year, is nominally the star of the show, but the venue itself and its future are taking center stage.

The comedian will be celebrated with performances and tributes by Louis C.K., Woody Harrelson, Arianna Huffington, Jay Leno, and John Mellencamp. The show will air on Netflix on July 21. Previous winners of the Mark Twain prize include Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Carol Burnett and Conan O’Brien.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-28/kennedy-center-celebrates-bill-maher-with-its-own-future-unknown