Bill Maher on getting the Mark Twain Prize for humor: 'Like an Emmy, except I win'

It’s similar that clip Pinocchio became a existent boy: News that was labeled “fake” past week is existent today, per the Kennedy Center, and Bill Maher volition so beryllium the 27th idiosyncratic to person the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The White House powerfully dissed the Atlantic’s reporting (followed by unreporting) past week that Maher was the adjacent successful enactment for the 2026 prize that Conan O’Brien got past twelvemonth and Kevin Hart picked up the twelvemonth earlier that. The Twain grant has been bestowed connected comics astir annually since 1998 by the Kennedy Center, a “tired, broken, and dilapidated” gathering that President Trump slapped his ain sanction connected successful December and plans to adjacent for 2 years’ worthy of renovations starting July 4 — hence the effect from White House flacks.

“Literally FAKE NEWS,” said Steven Cheung, White House manager of communications, connected his authoritative X relationship reacting Friday to the Atlantic story. Karoline Leavitt, White House property secretary, said successful a connection to the publication, “This is fake news. Bill Maher volition NOT beryllium getting this award.”

But People reported Thursday that though the Atlantic’s quality was deemed “fake” astatine the time, according to connection from a White House official, the concern had “evolved” successful the six days since then.

You accidental tomato, I accidental to-mah-to? At immoderate rate, Bill’s getting the Twain, fixed antecedently to comedic luminaries including Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey and Dave Chappelle.

Maher had nary effect connected societal media, possibly reserving his absorption for the upcoming “Real Time With Bill Maher” occurrence owed retired Friday connected HBO oregon his adjacent “Club Random” podcast. But helium did contented a dryly amusing connection Thursday successful a Kennedy Center quality release, saying, “Thank you to the Mark Twain people: I conscionable had the grant explained to me, and seemingly it’s similar an Emmy, but I win.”

(Maher’s amusement has been nominated for Emmy Awards 22 times, from 2004 done 2024, including 13 nods for assortment bid and the remainder for writing, directing and idiosyncratic performance. It has won precisely zero of those times. Even Susan Lucci lone had to hold done 18 Daytime Emmy nominations earlier she yet won connected the 19th — and proceeded to suffer retired connected 2 more.)

The comic’s connection continued: “I’d conscionable similar to accidental that it is so humbling to get thing named for a antheral who’s been thrown retired of arsenic galore schoolhouse libraries arsenic Mark Twain.”

“For astir 3 decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated immoderate of the top minds successful comedy,” Roma Daravi, vice president of nationalist relations for the Kennedy Center, said successful a connection of her own. “For adjacent longer, Bill has been influencing American sermon — 1 politically incorrect gag astatine a time.”

Maher, a self-described wide who has nary emotion for the Republican Party, recovered himself successful strange-new-respect territory among conservatives successful caller years aft helium started slamming far-left ideology arsenic ruthlessly arsenic helium slammed the acold right. Then past outpouring helium accepted an invitation for meal with Trump astatine the White House, and galore heads exploded.

“OK, arsenic you know, 12 days ago, I had meal with President Trump, a meal that was acceptable up by my person Kid Rock due to the fact that we stock a content that there’s got to beryllium thing amended than hurling insults from 3,000 miles away,” said Maher, who lives connected the West Coast, connected the April 11, 2025, occurrence of “Real Time.”

“And fto maine archetypal accidental that to each the radical who treated this similar it was immoderate benignant of acme meeting, you’re ridiculous. Like I was going to motion a pact oregon something. I person — I person nary power. I’m a f— comedian, and he’s the astir almighty person successful the world. I’m not the person of thing but possibly a contingent of centrist-minded radical who deliberation there’s got to beryllium a amended mode of moving this state than hating each different each minute.”

Maher said helium brought with him to the meal a database of astir 5 twelve epithets the president had hurled his mode implicit the years, intending to inquire Trump to motion it for him. Which the president did. And aft sharing immoderate anecdotes from the visit, including immoderate snappy retorts, Maher told his assemblage that Trump was “much much self-aware than helium lets connected successful public.”

“I ne'er felt I had to locomotion connected eggshells astir him. And honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would ne'er consciousness comfy talking to them the mode I was capable to speech with Donald Trump. That’s conscionable however it went down. Make of it what you will.”

The Mark Twain Prize volition beryllium fixed to Maher astatine a gala acceptable for June 28, with Netflix streaming the lawsuit astatine a aboriginal date, yet to beryllium determined.