Stephen King Discusses Being Awarded National Medal of the Arts

Posted on September 14, 2015

Stephen King was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Obama. King is pretty happy at being given the honor: he wore the medal on an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

King was awarded the medal in a ceremony at the White House on September 10, 2015, for his contributions as an author. The official citation reads, "One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, Mr. King combines his remarkable storytelling with his sharp analysis of human nature. For decades, his works of horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy have terrified and delighted audiences around the world."

On the Late Show, Colbert noted that King has been scaring people for decades and wanted to know why that makes his fans love him so much. King agreed that people do seem quite fond of him for scaring them. He said, It's "On the last tour what I heard the most was 'You scare the hell out of me can I have a hug?' I've become America's little teddy bear with little daggers or something. It's kind of masochistic, but he it pays the bills."

King then showed off his Arts Medal, by saying "I got a little bling from President Obama yesterday." He He noted that he feels like Flavor Flav when he wears it. Colbert noted that if he sharpened the edge of the metal it would make a nice murder weapon.

Colbert observed that when King first started out as an author he didn't get any respect from critics. King said a lot of the critics who dissed him back then -- when his first horror novel Carrie came out -- are now dead. King seemed to be in great spirits and is as prolific as ever.

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