Comedian Whitney Cummings has claimed that a joke referencing President Donald Trump was cut from the Netflix special "The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" which honored Bill Maher. Cummings, who was a presenter at the event held at the Kennedy Center, stated on her podcast "Good for You" that the edit was requested after the joke had already been performed and leaked.
The joke in question was: "I actually heard Trump may come tonight, but he couldn’t make it. He got caught in sex traffic." Cummings explained that while the joke was initially allowed, she was later asked to remove it from the broadcast. She expressed uncertainty about whether she made the right decision, citing concerns for the jobs of Kennedy Center staff, given that Trump had been appointed chair of the Kennedy Center board.
"It was very clear to me that they would lose their jobs," Cummings said, adding that she believed a lawsuit from Trump was a possibility. She referenced Trump's 2013 lawsuit against Maher. Cummings stated she felt compelled to defend the joke because the event was the Mark Twain Prize, an award celebrating humor that criticizes public officials.
Netflix indicated that The Kennedy Center, which has contractual rights to edit the show, was responsible for the decision. A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center stated that edits are made collaboratively to produce the best broadcast product. However, a Kennedy Center source familiar with the production denied Cummings' claims, asserting that the center would not fire anyone over a joke and that cutting material due to time constraints is standard practice, citing instances from previous years' specials.
Cummings also mentioned being asked to cut another joke related to Trump adding his name to the Kennedy Center and his alleged dislike for John F. Kennedy, though she did not elaborate on the specifics of that joke. The "sex traffic" joke did not appear in the final broadcast of the special, which began streaming on Netflix on Tuesday.