Bill Maher, the recipient of the Kennedy Center's prestigious Mark Twain Prize, had a lengthy skit with Trump impersonator Matt Friend on Sunday night. The June show will air on Netflix on July 21.
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Comedian Bill Maher, while accepting the Kennedy Center's prestigious Mark Twain Prize on Sunday evening, said he has the ability to anger both the right and the left. Taking aim at those who complain about being ridiculed (especially President Donald Trump), he said, "If that's the case, then you should stop being ridiculous."
Maher discussed the attacks on him by Kennedy Center President Donald Trump, who was absent from the ceremony. "When the current president is in the mood to attack me, he starts calling me a 'crazy leftist.' But I'm not," Maher added while accepting the award. "When I do comedy, it makes the audience laugh. If you don't want to be ridiculed, stop being a laughing stock for the world. If your behavior is that funny, my comedy will work. When people laugh at that, you arrest me right away.' He said that laughter is an irrefutable truth that comes naturally and should not be suppressed.
When 'The Atlantic' first announced the news of Maher receiving the 'Mark Twain Prize' earlier this year, the White House initially denied it. But about a week later, he was announced as the winner. The program will be broadcast on Netflix on July 21.
Taking advantage of President Trump's absence from the ceremony, another comedian, Matt Friend, took to the stage to caricature Trump. Mimicking Trump's gestures and voice, Matt pointed at Maher and sarcastically said, 'I should really get this award. I can make the world laugh a lot more than you can.' Maher immediately replied, 'Then you take it. I'm willing to lose this award for you.'
Maher was honored as a stand-up comedian who defends freedom of expression and doesn't try to please just one side of politics. The ceremony featured clips from his past, including his ABC show Politically Incorrect, which was canceled after a comment he made after the September 11 attacks.
Clips from his stand-up comedy and podcasts were also shown. Celebrities including Arianna Huffington, Stephen A. Smith, Jay Leno and Woody Harrelson praised him throughout the ceremony.
Hrithik Cummings also made a scathing remark about Trump that evening. 'I heard Trump was supposed to be here tonight, but he didn't. "Maybe he got caught up in 'sex traffic' (a double meaning of human trafficking)." Some Trump administration officials in the audience were taken aback by the sarcasm.
The show featured a lengthy skit between Matt Friend, who posed as Trump, and Bill Maher about Maher's meeting with Trump at the White House last year. "Bill, you broke your promise. Why are you coming to my White House and eating my flesh and digging up against me?" Matt asked Maher, posing as Trump, to the audience's laughter. "No, no. I have to stop here," Maher joked in response. "You keep saying that, but there was no transaction agreement."
Maher also took a dig at the left. He also criticized leftist attempts to ban Mark Twain's famous novel 'Huckleberry Finn' in recent days. The book is being banned for using racist language, while the language was used to 'mockery of racism'.
'If you stick around long enough and create something important, at some point everyone starts hating you and that's when you realize you're doing the right thing,' he said.
Maher praised his well-wishers, saying, 'I don't think about what makes the audience happy, but they are always willing to accept the truth. They don't ask me for cheap popularity or flattery. In fact, they don't want me to.'
