Biden honours Gladys Knight, George Clooney, U2 at Kennedy Center
The awardees pose for a photograph at the Kennedy Cultural Center
Gladys Knight, Singer Amy Grant, activist-actor George Clooney and Irish band U2 were honoured at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday. The honorees were given heartfelt tributes by their peers and friends. Patti LaBelle praised Gladys Knight, Matt Damon teased his friend George Clooney and Sheryl Crow sang a heartfelt rendition of 'Baby Baby' for Amy Grant.
Groundbreaking composer and conductor Tania León was also part of this year’s class. Every year the Kennedy Center honours a select group of people for their artistic influences on American culture. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their respective spouses were in attendance.
On the red carpet ahead of the Kennedy Center show, Clooney, with his wife, Amal, beside him, joked that after seeing friends like Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts in attendance he was worried his tribute would be more of a “roast.” And it was indeed a bit of a roast for Clooney, though his friends and family showed evident respect.
Longtime friend Julia Roberts set the tone by coming out onstage with a dress decorated with photos of Clooney all over it. After an introduction that alternated between funny and heartfelt, she turned to a set designed to look like a smoky bar — the type Clooney might enjoy. The actor’s father regaled the crowd with stories of a young George, including the time the 7-year-old — heartbroken over Martin Luther King Jr. assassination in 1968 — gave his father all his toy guns.
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Damon took the funny road, joking about how Clooney once stole then-President Bill Clinton’s stationery and wrote notes to fellow actors on it. Cheadle highlighted Clooney’s philanthropic work.
LaBelle called Knight her “everything,” saying they had been friends for six decades and seen each other through laughter and tears. “We do everything together,” LaBelle said. “I am honoured to honour you tonight.”
Actor and hip-hop star LL Cool J said that whenever Knight sings she connects with people. “I once heard Gladys sing the ABCs and I thought I was in church,” he said.
Country music superstar Garth Brooks, citing Knight’s “roots in country music,” sang her classic “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
Crow sang one of Grant’s most famous songs, “Baby Baby,” while veteran news anchor Katie Couric talked about how young Grant was when she was discovered.
The honorees came to the theater from a White House reception where Biden praised them before a star-studded East Room crowd as an “exceptional group of artists.”
“Thank you for showing us the power of the arts and ‘We the People,’” Biden said.
(With agency inputs)
