Names and faces
Stephen Colbert, host of the Kennedy Center Honors gala Sunday night, greeted the crowd of Washington insiders as “endangered swamp-dwellers,” referencing President-elect Donald Trump’s “drain the swamp” campaign pledge. Colbert joked that President Barack Obama would need to receive the honor to attend again and that “unlike the Nobel Peace Prize, they don’t just give these away.” While politics were absent from the tributes to the performers who were recognized for influencing American culture, the arts community’s affection for Obama and its nervousness about Trump were palpable in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The longest, loudest standing ovation of the evening wasn’t reserved for honorees Al Pacino, Mavis Staples or the Eagles. Instead, it went to Obama, attending his eighth and most likely his last honors presentation. He and first lady Michelle Obama were introduced last, after the honorees: actor Pacino; gospel singer Staples; pianist Martha Argerich; singer-songwriter James Taylor; and Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh, the surviving members of the Eagles. Although the president has no say in who receives the awards, Colbert joked that next year’s honorees would include Scott Baio, Gary Busey and Meat Loaf. “For the past eight years, the White House has given us a leader who’s passionate, intelligent and dignified,” Colbert said, and the crowd rose for another prolonged ovation, prompting Obama to stand and wave. “Sir, I don’t even know why you stood up. I was talking about Michelle,” Colbert said.
The Oscars finally have a host: Jimmy Kimmel will emcee the 89th Academy Awards. The latenight host will be presiding over the ceremony for the first time. Kimmel has been a regular awards host, having twice previously hosted the Emmy Awards. The selection of Kimmel gives ABC, home of the Oscars telecast, the choice the network had long sought. His Jimmy Kimmel Live! has previously followed ABC’s Oscars broadcast. The network also has new muscle to flex; it signed a deal with the Academy of Motion Pictures in August to remain the Oscar broadcast home until 2028. “Yes, I am hosting the Oscars,” Kimmel said on Twitter. “This is not a prank. And if it is, my revenge on the academy will be terrible and sweet.”