Leading comedians have defied Donald Trump’s takeover of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in a show that one described as “the most entertaining gathering of the resistance, ever”.
Trump did not attend Sunday’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor honouring Conan O’Brien for lifetime achievement in comedy. But his ears may have been burning as comics and celebrities joked at his expense in what became a rallying cry for freedom of artistic expression.
None was more direct than Sarah Silverman, who told how she had appeared on O’Brien’s late night TV show. “They wrote a bit where Conan interviews Hitler, who comes on because he’s embarrassed that he’s being compared to Donald Trump,” she recalled, “and they cast me as Hitler”.
Silverman, a Jewish woman, was not an obvious choice for the part. “They chose me and it’s this way of thinking that makes Conan great again.” Turning to look at O’Brien, who has ginger hair, she added: “I just really miss the days when you were America’s only orange asshole.” The audience erupted in laughter.
Silverman also referenced an episode of O’Brien’s show in which she took a sideways photo of his mouth so that it resembled a vagina. She urged the audience to look under their seats for a photo of O’Brien’s lips then alluded to Trump’s notorious boast on Access Hollywood about touching women’s genitals.
“You go ahead and leave those photos on your seat when you go. The guy who took over loves grabbing pussy.”
Trump’s seizure of the Kennedy Center in Washington has shaken the arts world. That change has come to the flagship venue was clear from the moment celebrities walked a red carpet opposite a wall mounted with gold-framed photos of Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and the vice-president and second lady, JD Vance and Usha Vance.
It was the first signature event here since Trump last month appointed himself chair, pushing out billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein. He also dismissed board members appointed by Joe Biden and installed officials loyal to him.
Trump handed leadership reins for the Kennedy Center to Richard Grenell, a close ally and former ambassador to Germany who is serving as envoy for special missions in the current administration.
The new board, which includes the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Usha Vance, fired the center’s president, Deborah Rutter. Trump posted on social media that those who were dismissed “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture”.
Several artists, including the producers of the musical Hamilton and actor and writer Issa Rae, have announced they are cancelling appearances at the venue. Ticket sales have also slumped.
On Sunday night, a series of comedians paying tribute to O’Brien did not pull their punches, with many targeting the institution’s uncertain future and some implying that the prize itself would be unlikely to survive the Trump era.
John Mulaney said: “It’s an honour to be here at the Kennedy Center or, as it will be known next week, the Roy Cohn Pavilion for Big, Strong Men Who Love Cats.” Cohn, a hardboiled lawyer, was Trump’s mentor. Trump praised Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats during a visit to the arts complex last week.
Mulaney added: “Congratulations to my friend Conan O’Brien on receiving the 26th and final Mark Twain prize.”
Will Ferrell described the event as a distraction because “I’m supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education”.
In a segment involving increasingly spicy chicken wings, late night host Stephen Colbert said: “In light of the new leadership of the Kennedy Center, all of these are right wings and a couple of them are truly insane.”
Praising O’Brien, Colbert continued: “He never backs down. Case in point, when he accepted the Mark Twain prize, this was a very different place. Today they announced two board members: Bashar al-Assad and Skeletor” – referring to the former dictator of Syria and a cartoon villain.
David Letterman, another giant of late night, acknowledged the iconoclastic mood in the auditorium when he said: “I’m not a historian, but I believe that history will show in the history for all time, this will have been the most entertaining gathering of the resistance, ever.”
O’Brien was chosen to replace David Letterman as host of NBC’s Late Night show in 1993 despite no significant on-camera experience. He had spent the previous years as a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons but went on to host Late Night for 16 years. He went on to host another talkshow on the cable station TBS, while launching successful podcasts and travel shows, and hosted this year’s Oscars.
Not known as a political satirist, O’Brien used his acceptance speech on Sunday to make pointed comments about the current climate. “Thanks to the people who invited me here a few months ago, Deborah Rutter and David Rubenstein,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t know why they’re not here tonight. I lost wifi in January. I guess they’re stuck in traffic.
“And a special thanks to all the beautiful people who have worked here at the Kennedy Center for years and who are worried about what the future might bring. My eternal thanks for their selfless devotion to the arts.” The audience stood, clapping and whooping.
Standing beside the prize, a bust of 19th-century writer and humorist Twain, O’Brien went on to note: “Twain hated bullies … He punched up, not down, and he deeply, deeply empathised with the weak. Twain was allergic to hypocrisy and he loathed racism.
“Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance.”
He added: “Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the world. He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote, ‘Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.’” Again the audience roared its approval.
But the night ended on a suitably lighthearted and zany note as performers dressed as Twain danced on stage while O’Brien and Adam Sandler played Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World.
Previous winners of the Mark Twain prize include Kevin Hart, Sandler, Jon Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Carol Burnett. Sunday’s show will be streamed on Netflix on 4 May.
