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20 Years After The Terrorist Attacks, Comedy Show Will Benefit 9/11 Charities

NOEL KING, HOST:

Two New York City-based comedians, Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson, plan to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by hosting a special to raise money for charities that benefit victims of the attack and their families.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:

It's advocacy work Stewart is already familiar with. In 2019, he confronted empty seats in Congress at a hearing to reauthorize the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JON STEWART: They responded in five seconds. They did their jobs with courage, grace, (crying) tenacity, humility. Eighteen years later, do yours.

KING: And Pete Davidson's Dad was a firefighter who died while responding to the attack on the World Trade Center. Davidson was 7 years old. And the experience of losing his father is a recurring theme in his work.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KING OF STATEN ISLAND")

BEL POWLEY: (As Kelsey) I like your tattoos. What are those numbers on your arm?

PETE DAVIDSON: (As Scott Carlin) Oh, that's the date my dad died. He was a fireman - died in a fire 17 years ago.

POWLEY: (As Kelsey) Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.

DAVIDSON: (As Scott Carlin) Don't be. It's fine.

RICKY VELEZ: (As Oscar) Knock knock.

DAVIDSON: (Scott Carlin) Who's there?

VELEZ: (As Oscar) Not your dad.

KING: Davidson's movie "King Of Staten Island," which came out in 2020, is a comedy drama based on his life. In an interview on Fresh Air, he said comedy has helped him process the tragedy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

DAVIDSON: When you're able to make somebody laugh or make a joke out of the darkest thing, it really - it's healing. And it makes you feel a lot better. So my goal was always to just bring light to the darkness.

ELLIOTT: The Madison Square Garden event's lineup includes Amy Schumer, Bill Burr and Colin Jost.

KING: In a joint statement, Stewart and Davidson said the special is meant to, quote, "honor this city's great resilience."

(SOUNDBITE OF INWARD OCEANS' "SIGHT TO THE BLIND") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.