Bill Maher Hailed for Courage and Being the ‘Ultimate Contrarian’ as He Receives Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bill Maher was awarded the Kennedy Center’s Mark Train Prize for American Humor on Sunday in a casual and candid affair that blended accolades, insights and light-hearted roasting from an assemblage of colleagues and entertainers.

The event, now in its 27th year and held at the Kennedy Center, toasted Maher’s intellect, his broad range of interests, interviewing finesse and loyalty to his audience among other features. As usual, the recipient and guests observed the proceedings from a side box near the stage of the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, in view of the audience.

The evening’s participants included Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Woody Harrelson, Arianna Huffington, Jay Leno, John Mellencamp, Matt Friend and Stephen A. Smith. Katie Couric narrated one of the many videos featuring highlights of Maher’s long career, spanning Comedy Central’s “Politically Incorrect” to HBO’s enduring talk series “Real Time With Bill Maher.” The evening’s music director was producer and composer Cheche Alara. The event will be turned into a TV special for Netflix that is set to bow on July 21.

To be sure, Maher’s ready wit and spontaneous repartee as a talk show host were central themes for the parade of chums who praised the honoree. With few exceptions, they avoided mentioning the present politics of Donald Trump, even though the Twain Award was the sole event at the otherwise empty arts facility thanks to him.

Instead, Trump-related antics became the show’s high point. As Maher walked on stage to receive his award from 2014 awardee Leno, up stepped impressionist Friend from the audience to interrupt the proceedings. Portraying an argumentative President Trump, Friend complained about Maher’s attendance at a White House dinner with Trump in 2025, a topic mentioned by Cummings and defended by Maher during his comedic exchange with Friend.

As expected, participants were effusive in their praise for the honoree. Cummings portrayed him as “a fighter for quality and justice,” while Louis C.K. reminisced about his unexpected friendship with Maher sparked during a difficult time in his own career. Harrelson also heaped praise on Maher for his insights and wit as the “ultimate contrarian,” and heralded their long-time friendship — especially their mutual love of cannabis, mentioning several times the name of the dispensary they mutually own in L.A.

Huffington said her first appearance on “Politically Incorrect” spawned a “long and deep friendship” with Maher. She described Maher as “the most loyal friend. Being with him, you forget all about your problems and just laugh. Mark Twain would have loved you,” she said. Her sentiments were echoed by ESPN host Smith, who explained how “Bill keeps it real” and his “greatest gift is his courage.” Maher exemplifies, Smith said, the lyrics to Paul Anka’s song, “My Way,” and continued by reciting a verse from the song.

Other highlights included opening music from musician Alara and his band, as well as Mellencamp performing “Small Town” and “Pink Houses,” both by request of the honoree. Maher concluded his acceptance by noting that he’s never been too obsessed with collecting awards hardware. “If I had to choose between the 41 Emmys I lost or the fans, I’d pick the fans every time,” Maher said.

Washington, D.C.’s reaction to President Trump’s unpopular “takeover” of the Kennedy Center last year was evident. The normally sold-out Twain event, an important fundraiser for the facility, drew a considerably smaller audience than usual. In addition, security was extremely tight with police presence and metal detectors in abundance even though President Trump was not in attendance.