Whitney Cummings’ Trump Joke Cut From Netflix Kennedy Center Telecast

When the Kennedy Center honored Bill Maher with its Mark Twain Prize at a ceremony last month, there were a number of jokes at the expense of the center’s chairman, Donald Trump, who was not present.

One quip, though, did not make it into the stream of the ceremony that debuted on Tuesday: A joke that seemingly referenced Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Honoring Maher, Whitney Cummings said at the ceremony, “I actually heard Trump may come tonight, but he couldn’t make it. He got caught in sex traffic.”

In an audience that included some Trump administration figures, the biting joke got some oohs, and laughs.

So what happened?

Cummings posted on X on Tuesday that Netflix did not cut anything from her set. A Netflix spokesperson said, “While it’s our preference not to cut jokes from anyone’s set, The Kennedy Center has the contractual right to do so.”

A Kennedy Center spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Netflix has had the rights to the ceremony under a rights deal with the center, which is controlled by Trump and a board dominated by his allies.

On her podcast earlier this month, Cummings talked about the situation, noting that the joke was “already out there” given press reporting on the ceremony. “But then they said, ‘We need to cut it from the broadcast.’ I’m like, well, it’s already out there. Who cares?’ They’re like, he will sue you.”

Cummings said that while she wasn’t trying to be the “bratty” comedian saying, “I’m on the front lines.”

“I don’t care. It’s like, ‘Great. Cut it.’ But this is the Mark Twain Prize. This is the only time that you shouldn’t get censored, because it’s about comedians using humor to criticize our elected officials. So I was in this jam where I was like … ‘I need to fight for this joke because it’s the Mark Twain Prize, and this is the time I feel like I have to. But also, I don’t want anyone losing their job. But if it’s just about him suing me, I was like, ‘Okay.’ I mean, I have to fly to DC, which is kind of annoying. But I would win.”

Cummings posted on X, “I was super clear that Netflix did not cut anything from my Mark Twain prize set. Netflix always supports comedy and comics. Quit spreading rumors ya weirdos.”

Throughout the ceremony, Maher was honored as a champion for free expression, with humor that skewered the right and the left. During her tribute, Cummings called Maher a “warrior for free speech.” Then she quipped, “He believes you should be able to say anything at anytime, especially when someone else is mid sentence.”

Shortly after he returned to office, Trump ousted the center’s board members who were appointed by Joe Biden and Barack Obama, ensuring that he would be elected its chairman, a first for a sitting president.