In a triumphant return to personal celebrations, the 2022 Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented Sunday night to Jon Stewart, the first honoree in more than two years.
Stewart, the 23rd person to receive the award, one of comedy’s highest honors, was able to gather the biggest names from the world of comedy and politics for the ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, which the comedian’s reach and cultural influence.
More from
The red carpet saw a mix of politicians and comedians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and husband Chasten, walking the carpet alongside Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel, Dave Chappelle and Steve Carrell went .
Narrator Pelosi, who has been the subject of Stewart’s ribs in the past, graciously admitted that regardless of the subject, she enjoyed his work “just as long as it’s funny.” “I’m obviously excited about Jon Stewart for his sense of humor,” Pelosi said, “but from the standpoint of his impact on public policy, he’s focused on what he knows and what’s close to his heart. He’s not just posing as a celebrity,” Pelosi said, referring to the comedian’s tireless activism for veterans and 9/11 relief workers.
Ahead of Stewart’s big night, in October 2019, Chapelle became the last person to receive the Mark Twain Prize before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Sunday’s event may have been a bit low-key compared to previous Twain Awards in recent times, but it also featured more Hollywood names than previous ceremonies. Many stood on the stage, some just slipped into the crowd. Comedian John Mulaney quietly took a seat next to his partner and former The Daily Show alumna Olivia Munn, while across the theater Kim Kardashian clutched host Pete Davidson’s arm.
The story goes on
Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein opened the event by alluding to the seriousness of current events at home and abroad, then added that Stewart was chosen as this year’s Twain Prize winner because he is not only a great humorist but also a committed social commentator is for the good of our country.
Bruce Springsteen, who, like Stewart, is a New Jersey native, took the stage to join Gary Clark Jr., the evening’s musical director, for a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together” to start and finish the show Later that evening with a slow jams version of “Born to Run”.
Bruce Springsteen – Credit: Scott Suchman for WETA
Scott Suchman for WETA
The overwhelming sentiment shared by the presenters, including Munn, Davidson, Bee, Kimmel, Chappelle, Carrell, Ed Helms and Stephen Colbert, was the deep appreciation that Stewart had for investing in them both as people and as professionals and has retreated into the limelight to allow their young careers to grow. Munn shared a story about how Stewart found and encouraged her, saying that Stewart also “changed the way my generation saw the news and public policy. “Jon made it cool to have an opinion on the news — and so now every goddamn asshole has an opinion on everything,” Munn said.
Stewart’s personable personality runs deep, Davidson pointed out. “Everybody likes this guy, the most controversial thing he ever did was be friends with me. John is true to the friendship, it’s not something he does half-heartedly like acting, or gives up quickly like directing,” Davidson said. Former Daily Show correspondent Carrell described Stewart’s ethic as “making sense out of madness and finding joy in the dark”.
Stewart’s age was also the subject of many light moments of the ceremony. Colbert, who was practically taking his toll while holed up with COVID-19, said of Stewart’s performance, “It looks like you drank from the wrong cup in an Indiana Jones movie.” In terms of the earliest ones Days of the Daily Show described Colbert Stewart and his correspondents as “a band of merry pirates”.
Presidential biographer Jon Meachum paid tribute to Stewart, describing him as a “comedian with a conscience,” adding, “Night after night you have given a divided America a chance to find its morals. Most comedians joke, but Jon, you make a difference.”
Stewart accepted his award and began his speech by speaking candidly and lightheartedly about his family, from his mother, who raised him as a single mother, to his wife and teenage children. He made a joke about Bill Cosby’s revoked award (“I’m the 23rd recipient of this very prestigious award, and you know it’s prestigious because almost none of the other recipients turned out to be serial rapists”) and a few references to the will Smith’s slap at the Academy Awards.
Stewart noted that Hollywood and DC have a lot in common: “Washington is for people who like the ego and arrogance of LA but think this city is too well designed,” a reference to the notoriously poorly designed and often broken street system by DC.
Addressing the ongoing debate about the purpose and future of humor and its greatest threat, the Problem host said, “There’s a lot of talk right now about what’s going to happen in comedy. You know, there was the slap … But it’s not the fragility of the audience,” Stewart said, referring to the comedy’s threat, “It’s the leaders. It’s not the Fresh Prince, it’s the Crown Prince,” he added.
He continued, “Comedy is the lead weather, we are the banana peel in the coal mine… Authoritarianism is the threat to art, theatre, poetry… What we have is fragile and precious, and the way to protect against it is not.” to change how audiences think, but to change how leaders lead.”
The 2022 Mark Twain Prize Ceremony will be broadcast on PBS on June 21.
Jon Stewart – Credit: Scott Suchman for WETA
Scott Suchman for WETA
The best of
Click here to read the full article.