UPDATED: The Atlantic is reporting that despite an earlier story Friday morning, Bill Maher will not be this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The publication has updated its story with a comment from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming that “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.”
Maher would have been honored before the Kennedy Center shuts down for a two-year renovation (that has no relationship whatsoever to any other events surrounding the Kennedy Center over the past year). The host and comedian has definitely been doing comedy for a long time, as one would hope for the recipient of one of comedy’s highest honors. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he hosted the political talk show Politically Incorrect from 1993-2002, after which he began Real Time with Bill Maher, the HBO series he still hosts today.
Maher’s selection, as The Atlantic initially observed, felt like an unlikely one considering that like many comedians, Maher is not a current favorite of the current presidential administration, has taken control over the Kennedy Center and its respective programs. Reportedly, Trump did originally approve the selection, but despite the fact that last year Maher did attend a dinner with Trump set up by Kid Rock, just last month, Trump called Maher a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT” on TruthSocial.
This means that Maher will no longer have the opportunity to stand up on a stage and tell jokes, continuing his recent declaration that he was quitting stand-up. He would have succeeded Conan O’Brien, who was last year’s recipient.
