Amy Poehler described comedy as a lifeline while accepting the comedy innovation honor at the WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. She spoke about the joy of laughing with people she loves, and the relief that art can offer when life feels difficult.
“Comedy, in many ways, has saved my life many times,” she said.
“There’s no greater joy for me than laughing at people who I love, laughing with them and at them, both!”
Marcello Hernández, a cast member on Saturday Night Live, presented the award, calling Poehler a “baller” and a “gift.” For Poehler, he represented a reason she loves her profession: “Because of the people I get to meet and who I get to work with.”
The comedian, known for Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation and her podcast Good Hang, also questioned the constant advice to stay present. She thanked the artists and storytellers whose work had given her somewhere else to go.
“A lot of people in this room help us get away from where we are. A lot of people in this room transport us,” Poehler said. “I think where we are isn’t often very good. We don’t always want to be feeling what we’re feeling. We don’t always want to be present with what we have going on in our lives.”
She hoped her own work had offered listeners and viewers that same escape: “If ‘Good Hang’ or any of the stuff I’ve ever done made anybody else feel that way, I am very, very grateful.”