White House blocks Bill Maher from receiving Mark Twain Prize at Kennedy Center

The White House on Friday intervened to block Bill Maher from receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, hours after The Atlantic first reported he had been selected for the honor.

“This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Atlantic staff writer Michael Scherer subsequently reported that after the story was published, the White House called the Kennedy Center directly and made clear Mr. Maher would not receive the prize.

The Atlantic had reported that Mr. Maher was selected to receive the last marquee honor at the Kennedy Center before it shuts down for a two-year renovation in July, at President Trump’s direction, citing two people familiar with the selection. One of those sources, who works at the center, said an official announcement had been expected soon. A third person told the outlet that Mr. Trump had been supportive of the idea, though Mr. Maher had not yet formally accepted.

The White House’s intervention caps the latest chapter in the long-running, on-again-off-again feud between Mr. Trump and the HBO host. Just last month, Mr. Trump blasted Mr. Maher on Truth Social as a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT,” revisiting a White House dinner the two shared in March 2025 — brokered by mutual friend Kid Rock — and calling the encounter “a total waste of time.” The feud stretches back years: in 2013, Mr. Trump briefly sued Mr. Maher after the comedian joked that his father may have been an orangutan, a riff on Mr. Trump’s earlier demands for President Obama’s birth certificate.

Mr. Maher, 70, has hosted HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” since 2003, following an eight-season run on “Politically Incorrect” on Comedy Central and ABC beginning in 1993. He completed his 13th HBO stand-up special in 2025 before announcing he was stepping away from touring, citing both the intensity of the current political climate and fatigue from decades on the road.

The Mark Twain Prize, awarded annually since 1998 by the Kennedy Center, recognizes comedians whose work has had an impact on American society comparable to that of the 19th-century satirist Samuel Clemens. Past recipients include Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, Adam Sandler and Kevin Hart. Last year’s honoree was Conan O’Brien, whose ceremony aired on Netflix.