What Did Comedians Say About Trump During The Ceremony?
While speaking on stage, actor Woody Harrelson joked about the center’s attempted name change, saying: “Finally, an award for my dear friend — ironically at the Trump Kennedy Center…Oh right, we fixed that…Not so as you’d be able to notice.” Comedian Whitney Cummings later said, “I actually heard Trump may come tonight but he couldn’t make it…He got caught in sex traffic.” When Maher came on stage to accept the award, he was interrupted by comedian and impressionist Matt Friend, who mimicked the president’s voice and said: “Hold on, Bill — I’m going to let you finish…Why are we giving this low-ratings, lightweight jerk the Mark Twain award?” Insisting that he gets “so many more laughs than this guy,” Friend insisted he should be given the award while still impersonating Trump. Maher then quipped, “Just take it. I am used to losing awards.”
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crucial quote
In his acceptance speech, the comedian—who has criticized both the left and the right—said: “when either side gets mad at me because I put them in jokes, jokes that work, my message to them is simple: You want to not get mocked? Stop being funny. Then the jokes will work. When they are ridiculous, they do work, and when people laugh, you’re caught.”
key background
Late last month, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s name cannot be added to the Kennedy Center without an act of Congress. The judge also ruled that Trump’s name had to be removed from the center’s signage, which at the time read “The Donald J. Trump And The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts.” After a failed attempt by Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center board to fight the ruling, the president’s name was eventually removed. However, the name removal drew interest from locals and the media, resulting in crowds gathering in front of the center and livestreams of the facade. This led to workers placing tarps in front of the facade as they removed Trump’s name. The tarp has remained in place for more than two weeks now and has been blasted by the president’s critics as a “literal cover-up.”
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further reading
One Week After Kennedy Center Removed Trump’s Name—Tarps Still Block Sign (Forbes)
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