Bassem Youssef on Jon Stewart | 2022 Mark Twain Prize

Commenting on the prize, Stewart said, “I am truly honored to receive this award. I have long admired and been influenced by the work of Mark Twain, or, as he was known by his given name, Samuel Leibowitz.”

“For more than three decades, Jon Stewart has brightened our lives and challenged our minds as he delivers current events and social satire with his trademark wit and wisdom. For me, tuning into his television programs over the years has always been equal parts entertainment and truth”
— Deborah F. Rutter, Kennedy Center President

The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, best known as Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist, and creator of characters, Clemens was a fearless observer of society, who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective on social injustice and personal folly.

As a recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Stewart received a copy of an 1884 bronze portrait bust of Mark Twain sculpted by Karl Gerhardt (1853–1940). Previous recipients can be seen by scrolling down this page.

Capital One® is the Presenting Sponsor of this year’s Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor as part of the bank’s three-year, $3 million gift to fund Comedy at the Kennedy Center, a signature program at the Center focused on elevating comedy as an art form and uniting the community through laughter.

The 23rd Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is under the direction of the creative team from Done + Dusted, the Kennedy Center’s producing partner for the Mark Twain Prize since 2018. This year’s ceremony marks the 23rd year that the Kennedy Center’s marquee comedy award will be broadcast nationally.

The event was created by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Bob Kaminsky, Peter Kaminsky, Mark Krantz, and John Schreiber. The Kennedy Center is grateful to Cappy McGarr for his steadfast support of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor since its inception in 1998.

#TwainPrizePBS #JonStewart #BassemYoussef

[joey]

Here after the Piers Morgan interview. Anyone else?🙂

[iandhr]

"I could have been a very rich sellout. You had to be an inspiration." Had me rolling.

[gifted]

This guy is really changing how I feel about everything

[JCMcGee]

Just watch him tear up the Piers Morgan show today like no one was powerful stuff.

[bobobobo]

who is here after watching piers morgan show with Bassem?

[RuhollahNakhaee]

Journalist from Iran here. Cover American politics. I started out learning about American politics by watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I had to get it on the website but I would literally follow it day by day. He was hugely influential for me, in me becoming a journalist, in the content of my reporting but also in the kind of journalist I wanted to be. Bassem Youssef is right. You guys, including Jon, have no idea how big an impact he's made outside of the US. Hats off to you sir.

[spacehamsterZH]

Bassem Youssef is such a badass. This man was doing political satire while his country was on fire, and Western people complain about Twitter being mad at them.

[ZahraMHK]

Who came here after his interview with Piers Morgan?

[mugabojeanpaul]

Who is here after Morgan piers interview ? Smart guy !

[inaiyer]

What amazes me is that these days journalists have become pathetic cheap comedians and comedians become responsible and true journalists so a BIG THANK YOU to Jon and Bassem.

[gretahelphrey]

This tribute moves me more than I can say. I was an ex-pat living in Cairo in the early 1980’s and came to love the Egyptian people, their culture, their humor, courage, generosity, and so much more. When they rose up in Tariq Square in the Arab Spring, my heart sang. And then I wept. But they are still there. Living. Struggling. Loving. Laughing. I hope we do not forget them.

[Ramiarmuni]

"Fu**s news" 😂😂😂 that was not an accent issue, it was deliberate, what a master comedian!

[hans]

As a recently minted American from West Africa, I cannot thank Jon enough. I passed my citizenship test without studying thanks to the company of Stewart. My bookshelf is full of books from all the people I have seen on steward. Democrats, Republicans and all. I wrote a my college thesis on the interview style of Jon. No matter how much he disagreed with you, he never lost track of the humanity and genuine attempt to understand the other. I can talk to anyone no matter how much we disagree. This dude is the part of the reason I am Proud to be an American. Thank you Jon.

[Samir-ziod]

As an Egyptian, I'm really proud of Bassem; he's come so far in terms of comedy and seeing him do raw standups with no gimmicks whatsoever shows the amount of effort he's put in and the willingness he has to learn and improve.

[aamiabdulla]

This is so true! People don’t really understand the impact Jon have on people outside of America! I have learned so much from him over the years and continue to do so! Much love from India!

[bjoardar]

As a Swede, with no ties to the middle east what so ever, I remember the few episodes of "Al bernameg" (the program) that I saw with English subtitles and wished there more.
As funny as Trevor Noah can be, I still feel sad that it wasn't Bassem Youssef who took over "The Daily Show" when Jon retired. It would have been amazing.

[MrFurleyu]

Watched him yesterday for the 1st time on Piers Morgan for 30 minutes, very entertaining on a very serious topic! Well done!

[denfool]

Well said Bassem. I'm a X Gen Aussie, and I learnt American politics from Jon. I also learnt that there are some funny Americans with a great heart.

[themayorofflair]

If there were more Jon Stewart’s & Bassem Youssef’s the world would be a very different place.

[yuanliao]

Same here from China, Jon Stewart aka 囧司徒 was my source of American politics when I was in college. And what he said at the last two minutes of his reception speech was such a reckoning because that’s exactly what happens under dictatorship. He is so empathetic, caring and he ran his show with integrity and truly funny jokes that I laughed to the grounds every time I watched it. He deserves all the honors and beyond, and I hope I can see him more often as we need more men and women like him.