The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor honoring Bill Maher will air on Netflix on July 21, the Kennedy Center announced Monday.
Newly announced guests for the programming include Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Woody Harrelson, Arianna Huffington, Jay Leno, John Mellencamp and Stephen A. Smith. The gala performance itself is scheduled to take place June 28 in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
“We are delighted to once again partner with Netflix to bring the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — the nation’s most prestigious comedy honor — to audiences everywhere,” said Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center. “Comedy fans will have a front-row seat to an evening of comedic candor, not to be missed.”
The event has already attracted controversy. The Kennedy Center announced Maher as the recipient after members of Trump’s administration said a report in The Atlantic, stating that Maher would be the recipient, was “fake news.”
“This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time.
The Kennedy Center itself has also been at the center of the controversy. After President Donald Trump appointed himself as chairman of the center, and appointed his own board members, the board voted to add Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center title. However, a judge ruled in May that the Kennedy Center must remove Trump’s name from the building, given that the center had been designated as a memorial to the late President by Congress.
The Mark Twain ceremony was initially meant to be the last scheduled event before a two-year closure of the center for renovations, according to the Kennedy Center. (The Center has also lost a number of scheduled concerts and artists, after Trump’s takeover of the institution). However, the same judge blocked the plans to close the center. On Monday, executives said the plan is for the Kennedy Center to remain open, for now, but acts are not being booked at this time, according to The Washington Post.
Original Article on Hollywood Reporter