Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, Lorne Michaels, Berry Gordy, Justino Díaz Feted as Kennedy Center Honors Returned to In-Person Event
Paul Harris To the delight of a standing-room-only audience that included the First Family, the Kennedy Center Honors paid hearty tribute on Sunday night to actress/singer Bette Midler, opera bass-baritone Justino Diaz, Motown founder Berry Gordy, “Saturday Night Live” honcho Lorne Michaels and singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell.The event, last staged before a live audience in pre-COVID 2020, had been conspicuously ignored by former President Donald Trump following criticism from two honorees in 2017. By contrast, President Joe Biden happily reinstated the tradition of hosting honorees at the White House before attending the production.