Yahoo Finance Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, Mindy Kaling Among 22 Awarded Medal of Arts by Joe Biden
"You do make the country better, you make it a better place," Biden told the honorees at the National Medal of Arts event in Washington D.C.
President Joe Biden is honoring the invaluable contribution of American artists.
Biden presented the National Medal of Arts to singers Bruce Springsteen and Gladys Knight, actors Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mindy Kaling, and designer Vera Wang at the White House on Tuesday. The medal is typically awarded to artists, singers, authors, humanitarians and others for their contribution to the arts.
"You do make the country better, you make it a better place," Biden told the honorees at the ceremony, reported Associated Press.
The ceremony included a memorable exchange between Biden and Louis-Dreyfus, who famously played a vice president in Veep during the time that Biden held the position in real life. Louis-Dreyfus even joked about Donald Trump and Mike Pence on stage during the 2020 Democratic National Convention where Biden was announced as a democratic presidential nominee.
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Wearing a simple short-sleeved black dress, Louis-Dreyfus, 62, threw a look at the president as he moved to place the medal around her neck and then visibly sagged once it was in position, exclaiming "Wow" as she felt the full weight of it, per AP.
Biden also threw in a joke directed at 72-year-old Wang as she accepted her medal, saying he's introduced to the designer's works every time he opens a closet.
"There's all those labels," he said, per NPR. "I know your dresses always look beautiful on my wife, God love her."
He also teased that he would run for a second presidential term while giving a medal to two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author Colson Whitehead, according to the publication.
"Pretty good, man! I'm kind of looking for back-to-back myself," Biden told Whitehead at the ceremony.
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Gladys Knight, 78, wearing a bright pink suit with her hair in an elegant ponytail, hugged Biden when he presented her medal, while Springsteen, 73, donning a simple black suit, was lauded by Biden for "his extraordinary contributions to the American songbook," according to AP.
Kaling, 43, who received the award in a short-sleeved lavender dress that matched the purple ribbon on the medal, could be seen pointing upwards and sent a quick "thank you" in that direction after receiving the honor.
She also had some support from her longtime colleague and former partner B.J. Novak, who was photographed applauding her award in a black suit and tie.
The pair, who met while filming The Office in 2004 and dated on and off before ultimately deciding to become friends, were photographed together last week while attending the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
RELATED Video: Mindy Kaling Is a Golden Goddess with Bestie B.J. Novak at 2023 'Vanity Fair' Oscar Party
Other guests honored during the National Medal of Arts event included "Feliz Navidad" singer Jose Feliciano, film producer Joan Shigekawa, artist Judith Francisca Baca, poet and author Richard Blanco and writer Walter Isaacson, among several others.
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