Bill Cosby's Kennedy Center Honors, Mark Twain Prize have been rescinded

Bill Cosby.
(Image credit: Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images)

Bill Cosby's Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize have been revoked, after a jury found him guilty of sexual assault last week.

The comedian was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2009. "The Honors and Mark Twain Prize are given to artists who, through their lifetime of work, have left an indelible impact on American culture," a spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said Monday. "As a result of Mr. Cosby's recent criminal conviction, the board concluded that his actions have overshadowed the very career accomplishments these distinctions from the Kennedy Center intend to recognize."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.