Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

The ceremony was dedicated to the 26th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Conan O'Brien. The first recipient of this award was given to Richard Pryor in 1998 and has since been awarded to numerous comedians including Bob Newhart, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Carol Burnett, Bill Murray, Jon Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Dave Chappelle.^[1] The prize remains the highest honor a comedian can receive.^[2]

The award, named after the 19th-century humorist Mark Twain who famously wrote American classics such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). The award is presented to individuals who have "had an impact on American society in ways similar to" Twain.^[3] The award was presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where it has been presented annually since 1998. Organizers initially chose Catherine O'Hara to receive the award. She initially accepted before backing out.^[4]

The event was on March 24 where it was pre-taped and filmed at the Kennedy Center. The special debuted on Netflix on May 4, 2025. Numerous friends of O'Brien were at the event to honor him including David Letterman, John Mulaney, Bill Burr, Nikki Glaser, Stephen Colbert, and Adam Sandler. Writer and comedian Robert Smigel as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog served as the announcer for the evening. The Max Weinberg 7 served as the band. Throughout the night he was honored for his work as a writer on The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and Conan, as well as his recent hosting of the 97th Academy Awards.

Several of O'Brien's collaborators from his talk show appeared throughout the ceremony including Andy Richter, The Interrupter, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the FedEx Pope, the Masturbating Bear, and Jordan Schlansky. O'Brien ended the show by spotting Mark Twain (portrayed by Will Forte) in the audience. They bickered at each other before embracing and slow dancing. A chorus of Mark Twain impersonators came out and slow danced with each other as well. The show ended with Adam Sandler and O'Brien performing a rendition of the Neil Young song Rockin' in the Free World on their guitars.^[5]

Due to the budget cuts and the takeover of the Kennedy Center by newly elected President Donald Trump, many of the performers talked about the regime change of the institution. Conan O'Brien addressed the controversy on his podcast, saying "Obviously for the last couple of months with the new administration, there's been some controversial stuff going on with the Kennedy Center. There was a question of, 'Should I go? Should I not go?' And I felt like it was important to show up."^[7]

At the ceremony, many of the performers made jokes and references to the changes and the Trump administration. O'Brien addressed the changes and the political climate in his acceptance speech saying in part, "[Twain] hated bullies … He punched up, not down and he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak", before adding, “He loved America, but he knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote 'Patriotism is loving your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it'".^[8]

Elizabeth Blair of NPR described the ceremony as being filled of "silliness, scatological humor, cutting political satire".^[9] The ceremony received three nominations and one win at the 2025 Emmys. ^[10]