Queen Latifah, Dionne Warwick, and Barry Gibb to Receive Kennedy Center Honors

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Queen Latifah, Dionne Warwick, and the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb will be celebrated at the 46th Kennedy Center Honors later this year. Billy Crystal and opera singer Renée Fleming join them in this year’s awards class, which honors exceptional lifetime contributions to the arts. The Washington, D.C. ceremony airs on CBS and Paramount+ on December 3, hosted by 2017 honoree Gloria Estefan.

Queen Latifah shared a statement about being selected for the recognition in cultural achievement: 

When we started on this journey decades ago, we were often told ‘No.’ No, you won’t be able to leave New Jersey. No, if you rap you can’t sing. No, singers can’t become actresses. No, actors can’t also produce. To now be recognized amongst so many multi-hyphenates feels unbelievable, not for just me and my team, but for our community.

Gibb, who spent his youth in England and Australia, shared a statement of his own about being a Kennedy Center honoree:

This is a wonderful honor! It’s hard to be proud and humble at the same time. It is one of the most special moments in my life and something that I will always cherish. When I think back over 50 years to our beginnings in Redcliffe, Queensland, I could never have expected this to happen in my life. Receiving the Kennedy Center Honors is something that everyone hopes might happen one day. I’ve often thought about but never dreamed it could come true. Thank you to all those who made this dream a reality. I wish my brothers were here so that they could’ve shared in this special moment.