Despite the opinions of the White House, Bill Maher has been named the winner of the 2026 Mark Twain Prize for American Humour.
The Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations Roma Daravi issued a statement saying, “for nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy. For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse — one politically incorrect joke at a time.”
Speaking on the award, Bill Maher said, “I had the award explained to me, and apparently it’s like an Emmy, except I win.”
The Atlantic announced Maher’s win of the Prize and White House communications director Steven Cheung quickly took to social media to call the report “literally FAKE NEWS.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that it was “fake news and Maher will NOT be getting this award.”
The Kennedy Center has presented the Mark Twain Prize since 1998 as a way to “recognize those who have made significant contributions to humor and commentary in the United States.“
Maher will join previous winners Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Letterman, Carol Burnett, and Tina Fey.
Presentation of the Mark Twain Prize will be one of the final events at the Kennedy Center on June 28 before it is scheduled to close for an extended renovation process.
Born William Maher in New York City, it was while attending Cornell University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English, that Maher turned his hand to stand-up comedy. While working as a regular host at Catch a Rising Star in NYC, Maher was “discovered” by a “Tonight Show” scout and while he made numerous appearances on the show hosted by Johnny Carson, Maher felt “constrained” by network television rules.
After appearing in films and sitcoms, Maher landed a spot on Comedy Central where he created the show “Politically Incorrect” in 1993.
Some controversial remarks cost Maher the show and it was cancelled in 2002.
In 2003, Maher landed “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO.