Bill Maher to Receive Mark Twain Prize From Kennedy Center After White House Calls Report 'Fake News'
Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher is set to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center.
Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations at the Kennedy Center, said in a statement: “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.”
If you don’t recall, Bill‘s prize was rumored a few days ago, and the White House actually said it was false.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Literally FAKE NEWS,” White House Communications director Steven Cheung posted on March 20, 6 days before this news was proven to be real.
Literally FAKE NEWS https://t.co/9NSDzbZCDH
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) March 20, 2026
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told CNN at the time, “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.”
Bill said in a statement about the honor: “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. 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.”