Conan O’Brien Decries ‘Bullies’ While Receiving Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize 

Comedian Conan O'Brien waves to the crowd at the start of the 25th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Conan O'Brien, Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. (AP)
Comedian Conan O'Brien waves to the crowd at the start of the 25th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Conan O'Brien, Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. (AP)
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Conan O’Brien Decries ‘Bullies’ While Receiving Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize 

Comedian Conan O'Brien waves to the crowd at the start of the 25th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Conan O'Brien, Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. (AP)
Comedian Conan O'Brien waves to the crowd at the start of the 25th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Conan O'Brien, Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. (AP)

Conan O'Brien accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday with a not-so-subtle broadside against President Donald Trump, whose takeover of the Kennedy Center, which awarded the prize, has shaken the arts world.

A host of comedians including David Letterman, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman and Stephen Colbert celebrated O'Brien for comic greatness while ribbing the Trump administration and putting a spotlight on the renowned arts facility that is now overseen by Trump allies.

But it was O'Brien, the longtime late-night television host and comedy writer, who aimed his comments most directly at the Republican president without using his name.

"Twain hated bullies," O'Brien said. "He punched up, not down. And he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak."

O'Brien described the award's namesake as "allergic to hypocrisy" and suspicious of populism and imperialism. "He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed," O'Brien said.

Trump, who came into office in January, has spent the last two months implementing much of the populist agenda that helped him get elected last year while advocating for US annexation of Canada and Greenland, firing federal workers, and deporting migrants who were in the United States illegally.

The show was the first signature event at the Kennedy Center since Trump announced he would become chairman of the institution, pushing out billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein.

Trump dismissed board members appointed by former President Joe Biden and installed officials loyal to him. He handed leadership reins for the facility to Richard Grenell, a close ally and former ambassador to Germany who is serving as envoy for special missions in Trump's current administration.

The new board, which includes White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, fired its former president, Deborah Rutter.

Trump visited the center last week and declared it in "tremendous disrepair." O'Brien thanked Rubenstein and Rutter in his remarks, drawing loud applause from the audience.

"When he accepted the Mark Twain Prize, this was a very different place," Colbert said from the Kennedy Center stage. "Today they announced two board members: Bashar al-Assad and Skeletor," Colbert quipped, referring to the former president of Syria and a cartoon villain.

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Other comedians joked that this would be the last Mark Twain Prize awarded by the Center. John Mulaney cracked that the facility, which is seen as a memorial to slain former President John F. Kennedy, would be renamed after Roy Cohn, a political fixer known for his role in Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist scare campaigns of the 1950s, and a lawyer for Trump in his early years in business.

Along with the annual Kennedy Center Honors in December, the Mark Twain Prize is one of the premier events at the renowned arts institution.

Trump did not attend the event on Sunday and did not attend any of the Honors performances during his first term.

O'Brien hosted the Oscars earlier this month and is slated to come back in the emcee role next year.

He was the host of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" on NBC and "Conan" on TBS. He is a former writer for "Saturday Night Live."

"You are a genius, my friend," comedian and actor Will Ferrell said from the stage.

"You're an absolute giant in the world of comedy," said actor and comedian Tracy Morgan.

O'Brien told reporters before the show that he wanted to go through with the event to support Kennedy Center workers. "Our country has been through many different sea changes, and my thought is I will be here specifically to honor Mark Twain and the people that this award stands for," he said.

Previous winners of the Mark Twain Prize include Kevin Hart, Sandler, Jon Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Carol Burnett. Sunday's show will be available for viewing on Netflix on May 4.



Pearl Jam Drummer Matt Cameron Says He’s Leaving the Band After Nearly 30 Years

Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam performs during BottleRock Napa Valley on Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Napa, Calif. (AP)
Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam performs during BottleRock Napa Valley on Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Napa, Calif. (AP)
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Pearl Jam Drummer Matt Cameron Says He’s Leaving the Band After Nearly 30 Years

Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam performs during BottleRock Napa Valley on Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Napa, Calif. (AP)
Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam performs during BottleRock Napa Valley on Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Napa, Calif. (AP)

Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron said Monday that he’s leaving the band after nearly 30 years.

The 62-year-old Cameron announced his departure in a social media post.

“After 27 fantastic years, I have taken my final steps down the drum riser for the mighty Pearl Jam,” Cameron said. “Much love and respect to Jeff, Ed, Mike and Stone for inviting me into the band in 1998 and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, filled with friendships, artistry, challenges and laughter.”

Cameron didn't give a reason for his departure.

“Matt Cameron has been a singular and true powerhouse of a musician and drummer. He has propelled the last 27 years of Pearl Jam live shows and studio recordings. It was a deeply important chapter for our group and we wish him well always,” Pearl Jam members said in a statement posted to the band's social media accounts.

They made no mention of a replacement.

Cameron, who played drums for Soundgarden for more than a decade before joining Pearl Jam, was not a founding member of the band and didn't play drums for the early albums that made them rock superstars.

But he provided some much-needed stability at the drum kit after the band had gone through four others since its inception. He first joined in 1998 as a temporary replacement for Jack Irons, playing on a long tour before making his studio debut with the group on 2000's “Binaural.”

He just finished a yearlong tour with the band in support of its 12th studio album, “Dark Matter.”

Cameron was born and raised in San Diego before moving to Seattle shortly before its music scene became a global phenomenon. He played in proto-grunge band Skin Yard before joining Soundgarden. He did double duty with Pearl Jam and a reunited Soundgarden from 2010 to 2017.