The Kennedy Center honored comedian Kevin Hart with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday with an evening that featured routines from fellow comics Dave Chappelle, Chelsea Handler and Jerry Seinfeld in tribute to Hart’s career.
In a recorded show that will air on May 11 on Netflix, Hart’s peers celebrated him with a mix of humor, profanity and emotion.
“You remind me … why I love comedy so much,” Chappelle, a previous winner of the award, told Hart from the Kennedy Center stage, quipping that he had given up a trip to Jamaica to attend.
“I am honored to know somebody like you. I really wish you had come when I won this award.”
Hart, 44, became the 25th recipient of the prize, which the Kennedy Center has previously bestowed on Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart, and Carol Burnett. Hart called the award amazing and thanked his peers for “showing up.”
Known for films such as “Ride Along,” “Central Intelligence,” and “Fatherhood,” Hart has achieved success as a comic, a movie and television actor, and as a producer and businessman. He launched the media company HARTBEAT in 2022.
