Just weeks after getting into a tiff with President Donald Trump, Bill Maher has been tapped to receive one of the most prestigious awards in comedy.
The "Real Time" host, 70, will be the latest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which he will receive from the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Arts in a ceremony on June 28. The performing arts venue confirmed Maher's selection on March 26 and said the gala, featuring "some of the biggest names in comedy," will premiere on Netflix.
"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," Maher joked 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 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is an honor that has been bestowed on many of the most acclaimed comedians in the world, and past recipients include Steve Martin, George Carlin and Eddie Murphy. Most recently, the prize went to Conan O'Brien in 2025.
Maher's selection for the award comes more than a year after Trump named himself chair of the Kennedy Center in 2025 and fired all members of the board, installing handpicked members. The board renamed the center to the Trump-Kennedy Center. While some artists pulled out of Trump's Kennedy Center events due to the controversial changes, O'Brien said last March he wanted to move forward with his Mark Twain Prize ceremony to support the center's workers.
