Comedians descended on Washington, D.C. as Kevin Hart was honored Sunday evening at the Kennedy Center. for a lifetime achievement award in comedy.
Despite the venue for the The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the night largely steered clear of politics save a few jokes.
Hart told DailyMail.com on the red carpet that he steers clear of broaching political topics in his comedy because ‘the idea of politics is not one that I associate with humor.’
Meanwhile, Chris Rock said there are some ‘dark days coming’ if Donald Trump wins in 2024.
Chelsea Handler joked that Hart formed his own ‘border crisis’ by traveling over the Canadian-U.S. border when he was filming a movie during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tiffany Haddish said onstage that she found her new ‘baby daddy’ after a man who ‘looks like he works in Congress’ laughed enthusiastically at all of her jokes.
There was an absolutely stacked stage of comedians who turned up for Hart in the nation’s capital on Sunday – including D.C.-native Dave Chappelle, who said he skipped out on a trip to Jamaica to be there.
Among the elite appearances included Jerry Seinfeld; Lil Dicky, a rapper whose real name is Dave Burd; Jimmy Fallon, who performed an original comedy song about Hart; Nick Cannon; J.B. Smoove; Keith Robinson, who suffered two strokes but still showed-up; longtime Hart co-star Regina Hall; and brief musical performances from Robin Thicke and Nelly.
The award’s taping, along with the musical and comedy acts, will air as a special on Netflix on May 11 after in years prior it was put-out on Comedy Central and then PBS. CNN aired the awards in 2023.
Dave Rubenstein, chairman of the Mark Twain Prize, was hosting his final event on Sunday evening and delivered one of the best political zingers of the evening.
He said author and humorist Twain would be 214-years-old if he were alive to see the award presented to Hart. Rubenstein said that would be ‘just about the age when you can run for president’ amid a race for the White House between President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Trump, 77.
‘How do you bridge the divide and navigate comedy with so much political divisiveness,’ DailyMail.com asked Hart on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center.
‘That’s a great question. I mean, honestly, I don’t really partake in it,’ he said. ‘I’m a product of bringing people together. You know, my comedy is one that’s global – and when you’re global, you’re in an environment where laughter is the priority.’
‘It doesn’t mean I’m against political humor, it’s just more that I understand my lane and I operate in what I do very well,’ he added.
Hart concluded: ‘The idea of politics for me is not one that I associate with humor.’
Overall, comedians that spoke with DailyMail.com on Sunday evening didn’t seem to be concerned with staying politically correct in the more divisive era of the country – but acknowledged that ‘cancel culture is real.’
Writer for the award show Nefetari Spencer says she hopes not to divide anyone with the jokes made for the special.
‘I think now with the political things that are happening with our country, I think for me, as a writer, my focus is to bring happiness to people,’ she told DailyMail.com on the pre-show red carpet. So my jokes are not to be divisive in any way. It’s not to offend anybody on either side, no matter what side you are on.’
‘My focus is to bring happiness and to spread love, because I think that that is important and what we all need right now,’ Spencer added.
