Since then, artists and performers have increasinglydistanced themselvesfrom the venue and the administration bycanceling scheduled appearances.
But even the ones who have shown up have done so in protest, to some extent.
On Sunday, Conan OBrien was presented the Mark Twain Prize for Humor at the Kennedy Center.
Conan O’Brien honored at 2025 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center on March 23, 2025.Shannon Finney/WireImage
With his comedian peers in attendance, the night doubled as an impromptu roast of Trumps Kennedy Center.
Congratulations to my friend Conan OBrien on receiving the 26th and final Mark Twain prize.
Stephen Colbert added: [OBrien] never backs down.
Case in point, when he accepted the Mark Twain prize, this was a very different place.
Sarah Silverman took it much further.
They chose me and its this way of thinking that makes Conan great again.
It may be Trumps Kennedy Center now, but the performers still hold the power.
Twain hated bullies, OBrien said.
He punched up, not down, and he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak.
Twain was allergic to hypocrisy and he loathed racism.
I lost Wi-Fi in January.
I guess theyre stuck in traffic.
He also highlighted the more than one dozen people Trump fired from the board there.
My eternal thanks for their selfless devotion to the arts.
The ceremony will be streamed on Netflix on May 4.
