WASHINGTON -- Jon Stewart, accepting the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, warned Sunday night that speculation about the future of comedy amid increased audience cultural sensitivity was ignoring a true and enduring threat: authoritarian governments around the world.
âComedy doesnât change the world, but itâs a bellwether,â Stewart said. âWhen a society feels under threat, comedians are who gets sent away first.â
Stewart pointed to Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, whose Stewart-inspired political comedy show earned him both fame and self-imposed exile. Youssefâs story is âan example of the true threat to comedy,â Stewart said.
The intersection of comedy and politics was the main theme as celebrities and comedy royalty gathered to honour Stewart, who set the modern template for mixing the topics during his 16-year run hosting TV's âThe Daily Show.â
Stewart, the 23rd recipient of the prize, was honoured in testimonials from fellow comedians and previous Mark Twain Prize recipients. Stewart himself spoke during Dave Chappelleâs Mark Twain ceremony in 2019, and Chappelle returned the favour.
âIt is a miracle to watch you work. You are a cure for what ails this country,â said Chappelle, who noted that Stewart stepped down from âThe Daily Showâ one year before the election of Donald Trump as president.
The 59-year-old Stewart â born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz â rose to prominence as a standup comic and host of multiple failed talk shows before taking over Comedy Centralâs âThe Daily Showâ in 1999. He became a cultural and political force as he trained his satirical eye on politics and an increasingly polarized national media.
Several of Sundayâs speakers were former âDaily Showâ correspondents, including Samantha Bee, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver.
Carell described his time on the show as full of âexcitement, fear, physical distress and laughter.â He noted that Stewart seemed to delight in sending him on bizarre assignments that included eating Crisco, dealing with a trailer of snakes, and drinking Long Island ice tea until he vomited. Stewart, he said, was âalways supporting us and always cheering us from the comfort and safety of his office.â
Oliver, meanwhile, sent in a video message noting that the real Jon Stewart would never spend âtwo hours squirming in his seat listening to people tell him how much he means to them.â Therefore, Oliver concluded, Stewart must be dead and he proceeded to deliver an extended eulogy.
Fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen performed an acoustic version of âBorn to Runâ and praised Stewart as a patriot determined to speak truth to power.
Stewartâs influence was felt far beyond Americaâs borders. Youssef, an Egyptian heart surgeon, started up a modest YouTube show that was directly modelled on Stewartâs and became an iconic figure during and after the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
Describing his show as âclearly a very cheap knockoffâ of âThe Daily Show,â Youssef detailed how he appeared on Stewartâs show in 2012 and Stewart came to Cairo to do the same in 2013.
Two weeks after that appearance, the Egyptian military overthrew a democratically elected Islamist president amid mass national protests. Youssef said he asked Stewart how to navigate the shifting political climate, and Stewart advised him to stick to his principles even if it caused trouble or cost him popularity.
Youssef, whose show was eventually cancelled and who now lives in the U.S., began cursing Stewart from the stage. âI could have been a very rich sell-out by now!â he yelled in mock anger.
Since retiring from âThe Daily Showâ in 2015, Stewart has become a vocal proponent of a number of social causes and one of the most prominent voices in support of health care for Sept. 11 first responders in New York City. He recently returned to television as host of âThe Problem with Jon Stewartâ on Apple TV+.
Stewartâs political influence was apparent Sunday from a guest list that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Pelosi, on the red carpet before the ceremony, said she had interacted with Stewart on multiple occasions while he was lobbying on different causes. She praised his âlevel of commitment and knowledgeâ that far outstripped the usual celebrity political involvement.
She also laughingly said that Stewart is ânot a patient manâ when he feels his cause is just.
This was the first Mark Twain ceremony since Chappelleâs in 2019. The award skipped 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from that two-year break, the prize has been presented annually since 1998, with Richard Pryor receiving the first honours.
Other recipients include Carol Burnett (the oldest recipient at age 80), Tina Fey (the youngest at age 40), Eddie Murphy, Jonathan Winters, George Carlin and Lily Tomlin. 2009 recipient Bill Cosby had his prize rescinded in 2018 amid multiple allegations of sexual assault.