Displeased White House intervenes as Bill Maher announced as Kennedy Center prize-winner

The White House stepped in Friday to stop late-night television host Bill Maher from receiving a prestigious humor award at the Kennedy Center shortly after news of the honor was reported, according to The Atlantic.

Earlier Friday, the outlet reported that Maher – a frequent critic of President Donald Trump – had been selected to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

But Atlantic staff writer Michael Scherer told his followers on social media, “After this story was published, the White House called the Kennedy Center and made clear that Maher would not receive the prize.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also disputed the report in a statement to the magazine. “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.”

The move to block Maher’s award comes amid Trump’s sweeping changes at the storied Washington, D.C. institution. The president took over the Kennedy Center last February by replacing its trustees with loyalists who went on to name Trump as its chair.

The MAGA-fied board also rebranded the venue as the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Trump and Maher have sparred in the past, including a recent social media barrage by Trump targeting the HBO host. In a span of roughly 15 minutes on March 6, the president repeatedly posted about Maher, dismissing the comedian as a “joke” and a “total waste of time.”