Comic Relief PRESENTS

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

carnegie hall

Donate to End Childhood Poverty

Welcome to Comic Relief Live!

At Comic Relief, we believe that comedy is a powerful force for good. It connects us and moves people to act.

The reality is, right now, children and young people are facing extraordinary challenges. When children experience poverty, even for a short time, it strips them of health, education, and opportunity.

That is why our collective action is needed now, more than ever.

And here's the good news: by being here tonight, you're already making a difference. Every ticket sold and donation made will help to lift children and young people out of poverty.

For over a decade, we've brought life-changing impact to over 50 million children, young people, and families across the U.S. and around the world.Yet there's still more to do.

In this moment where so much uncertainty persists, you can help us build stronger communities for children.

Thank you for making tonight possible. Together, we're creating something powerful, a clear reminder of how laughter can fuel change.

With gratitude,
Michele Ganeless

CEO, Comic Relief

VISIONARY AWARD

Our partnership with ServiceNow is a leading example of collaboration that empowers young people to drive positive change and invests in youth-led projects working at the intersection of AI and social impact.

This partnership has been transformative for Comic Relief, fueling our work to improve the lives of children and young people. At Comic Relief Live, we are proud to honor ServiceNow with the Visionary Award, recognizing their commitment to innovation, partnership, and meaningful impact.

HOSTED BY

John Oliver

Host of Last Week Tonight

John Oliver is an Emmy and Writer’s Guild Award-winning writer, comedian, and host of the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. On his occasional breaks from television, John returns to his first love of stand-up, performing to sold-out venues around the world.



From 2006-2013, he was a correspondent on the multi-award winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, guest-hosting the show for two months during Stewart’s absence in 2013.


Prior to this, he starred in his first stand-up special John Oliver: Terrifying Times before going on to host four seasons of his own stand-up series for Comedy Central, John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show. Until 2015 he also co-hosted the weekly satirical podcast The Bugle.


Oliver voices the character Zazu in the Disney film The Lion King, following previous guest roles including Paramount’s Wonder Park, Danger Mouse, Community, The Smurfs, The Smurfs 2, Bob’s Burgers, The Simpsons, The Detour, Rick & Morty and The Horne Section TV Show.

PERFORMANCES BY

Mary Beth Barone

Mary Beth Barone is a comedian, writer, and actor. Her Netflix special GALAXY BRAIN debuted on the Netflix top 10 in July 2026. Barone stars and writes for the hit Amazon/A24 comedy series Overcompensating. She has headlined sold out tours across the US and UK. She is the co-host of the popular podcast RIDE with Benito Skinner. Her first feature which she wrote and will star in shoots in September of 2026 with Lena Dunham is producing.

Zarna Garg

Zarna Garg is an outspoken Indian immigrant comedian who won’t stop with the hit comedy specials and sold-out live shows. She’s now touring with her new show Million Dollar Excuses, about how to get out of anything.

Zarna’s inspiring memoir This American Woman, about her treacherous climb from homeless Mumbai teen to internationally beloved stand-up comedian, is a New York Times bestseller with over 18,000 4- and 5-star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, where it was named one of their Best Books of 2025.

Zarna made her acting debut in the indie superhit A Nice Indian Boy, a New York Times Critic’s Pick that called Zarna “a standout.” You can currently see her on the Hulu series Not Suitable for Work and in the upcoming Amazon feature film Clashing Through the Snow.

Her hugely popular Zarna Garg Family Podcast explores modern family life with her husband and kids, bringing the same hilarious honesty and chaos that made her a viral sensation online.

Zarna’s work has earned some of the internet’s highest honors, including a Webby Award for Best Short Form Video of the Year and the inaugural Instagram Ring Award, recognizing her as one of the 25 most authentic creators in the world. With millions of social media followers and billions of views, Zarna just can’t stop laughing her way to the top.

Josh Johnson

With over 11 million followers across his social media, Josh Johnson was recently called “the funniest guy on the internet” by WIRED and is one of the industry’s fastest-rising names in comedy. He is an Emmy-nominated writer, stand-up comedian, actor, and NAACP award-winner from Louisiana by way of Chicago. Johnson is currently a rotating host and correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy & Peabody Award-winning program The Daily Show where he was previously a writer for seven years. Johnson is also a former writer and performer on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he made his late-night debut in 2017.

Most recently, in May 2026, Johnson released his first HBO stand up special, Symphony, which spent its debut week on the platform in the top 10 of all movies, reaching number 3 a few days in. Earning rave reviews with fans and critics alike, the LA Times described Johnson’s use of music in Symphony as “a canvas to paint a funny, layered portrait of the human experience,” and went on to say that “with stories focused on surviving a rowdy family, moments of loneliness, struggles with faith, and navigating our deepest human relationships, Johnson’s abilities as a pensive storyteller are conducted masterfully. The result is an hour that helps showcase his refined comedic voice, surprise the audience and sound the trumpets for his next round of touring.” In the UK, The Guardian noted that “to call him a disruptor of the conventional comedy career path would be a heavy understatement; Johnson is playing by his own rules and the comedy cognoscenti around the world are undoubtedly watching with a keen eye… for those who have been following Johnson’s body of work for the past decade, you’ll know that it’s not hyperbole to describe him as a generational comedian."

Johnson’s reach is truly global; his YouTube channel alone has surpassed half a billion views, and he recently completed his sold-out FLOWERS TOUR, which spanned 112 cities worldwide. He is also a prolific writer and performer who puts out weekly stand up sets on his YouTube channel. In 2025, Johnson released 38 hours of topical stand up material that was performed in front of a live audience. When not on television, Johnson headlines major theaters, clubs, and festivals, continuing to cement his status as one of the most essential voices in modern comedy.

Roy Wood Jr.

Roy Wood Jr. is a comedian, an Emmy-nominated documentary producer, and WGA nominated writer. He served for 8 years as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning The Daily Show (2015-2023). In 2023, Wood Jr. guest hosted The Daily Show and headlined the White House Correspondents' Dinner to its highest ratings since 2017.  Roy’s fourth stand-up special, Lonely Flowers, premiered on Hulu in January 2025. 

Roy is the host of CNN’s Have I Got News for You, an American adaptation of a long-running UK comedy series, which premiered September 2024 and returned for a second season in February 2025. Wood Jr. will appear alongside Keanu Reeves and Jonah Hill in the upcoming comedy ‘Outcome’ and will next be seen in the Sundance film Love, Brooklyn. He recently partnered with Crown Publishing to pen a memoir, The Man of Many Fathers, which was released in October 2025.

Wood Jr. co-starred alongside Jon Hamm in Paramount Pictures' long-awaited Fletch remake, Confess, Fletch (2022), and has guest appearances in ‘Only Murders in the Building’, ‘Better Call Saul’, and ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.’

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE TONIGHT POSSIBLE AND GENEROUSLY DONATED TO COMIC RELIEF.

COMIC RELIEF LIVE LEADERSHIP

CO-CHAIRS
  • Dave Bernath
  • Patrick Vien
COMMITTEE
  • Val Boreland
  • Tanya Bracco
  • Charlie Collier
  • Joanna Coles
  • Tom Gorke
  • Doug Herzog
  • David Spiller / Candice Hoyes
  • Susan Hummel
  • Terence Kawaja
  • Jacki Kelley
  • Susie Kricena
  • Alia Lamborghini
  • Kristin Lemkau
  • JB Miller
  • Craig Minassian
  • Christina Norman
  • Karen Pavlin
  • Mike Regan
  • Alexandra Shapiro
  • Stan Sandberg

COMIC RELIEF LIVE supporters

$100K Champion
    • ServiceNow
$50K Benefactor
    • Bloomberg Philanthropies
      LinkedIn
      JP Morgan wealth management
$25K Patron
  • YAHOO
    Power To Give
    Wurl
    Comedy Dynamics
    KPMG LLP
    Mosaic Media Group
$15K Supporter
    • DISH Media
    • Bank of America
    • Goldman Sachs
    • Ropes & Gray
    • Versant
    • Patrick Vien and Sharon Lavon-Krein
    • A+E Global Media
    • The Kiplok Family
    • Citadel Securities
    • Index Exchange
    • Adam Aron & Alexandra Shapiro
$10K Friend
  • UTA
$5K Friend
    • Lionsgate
    • Mandy Lam
    • Megan Sheetz
    • Judy McGrath
$2.5K Gold
    • J. B. Miller, CEO, Empire Entertainment
    • Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox
    • Tito's Handmade Vodka
    • Terence Kawaja
    • Craig and Shawna Minassian
$1.5K Silver
    • Susan Lyne
    • Minerals Technologies, Inc.
    • Steven Ganeless
    • Richard and Catherine d'Albert
    • Susie Kricena
    • Andrew Franz Architect PLLC
    • Mr Philip Thomas
$750 Bronze
    • David Spiller and Candice Hoyes
    • Frances Berwick and Marc Zeitoun
    • Tom and Mia Gorke
    • Dr. Hilla Steinberg and Mr. Adam Steinberg
    • Good Roommate Media/Paula Kaplan
    • Liz Mahaffey
    • Lisa Sherman
    • Anne & Hartwig Zakin
    • Megan Martin and Ari Blaut
    • Yelena and Dimitry Goncharov
    • Sean & Marion Moran
Contributions
    • The Schulke Family
    • Christina Norman & Charles Hunt
    • John Cucci and Paul Schaer
    • Ben & Stacey Frost
    • Garrett and Mary Moran
    • Leisl and Jeff Wilke
    • EDEN Productions
    • Fuse Media

MEDIA Partners

    • PJX Media 
    • SiriusXM
    • The New Yorker
    • Fuse Media
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COMIC RELIEF GRANTEE PARTNERS

  • Ali Forney Center
  • Amref Health Africa, Inc.
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of America
  • Children's Health Fund
  • Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative
  • City Year 
  • Corporación Manos Visibles
  • Covenant House
  • Echoing Green
  • Educare Network 
  • Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice
  • Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico
  • G4GC: Investing in Ecosystems that Support our Youth 
  • Glasswing International
  • Global Fund for Children
  • Grow Dat Youth Farm
  • Helen Keller Intl
  • Human Rights Campaign Foundation
  • Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health
  • Latino Memphis
  • Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
  • Malala Fund
  • Pratham Education Foundation 
  • Room to Read
  • Save the Children Federation
  • SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
  • Tejano Center for Community Concerns
  • The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
  • The Brotherhood Sister Sol 
  • The Global Fund
  • The Southern Black Girls Women’s Consortium 
  • The Student Conservation Association
  • WE-CARE Foundation
  • West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE)
  • Youth Design Center

Youth Advisory Council (YAC) Grantee Partners

  • Brújula Feminista, Girl Up Argentina
  • Clean Cities Project
  • Coalition for Community Resilience and Transformation
  • For Her Planet
  • Global Shapers Buenos Aires Hub / Fundación Influenciadores Globales Buenos Aires
  • Pocket of Pink
  • Do Something, Inc.
  • En La Órbita
  • NoSo Connection Collective
  • Sustainable Living Lab

COMIC RELIEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Randy Newcomb
Chairman of the Board
Senior Advisor at The Omidyar Group
Patrick Vien
Vice Board Chair
Group Managing Director, International at A+E Global Media™
David Horne
Board Member and Audit & Risk Committee Chair
CFO, The Cabrini Foundation
Richard Curtis
Board Member
Co-founder of Comic Relief UK / US
Austyn Biggers
Board Member
Executive Producer | Creative Strategist
Val Boreland
Board Member
President of Entertainment, VERSANT
Michele Ganeless
Board Member
Chief Executive Officer of Comic Relief US
Tom Gorke
Board Member
Managing Director of Global Apps Partnerships, Google
Doug Herzog
Board Member
Richard Hofstetter
Board Member
Partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C
Alia Lamborghini
Board Member
SVP, US Sales And Client Services, Yahoo DSP at Yahoo!
Alison Moore
Board Member
Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Ida Rezvani
Board Member
Global Chief Client Officer, McCann & McCann World Group
Evan J Segal
Board Member
Founder/ Managing Partner, Segal Ventures LP
David Spiller
Board Member
Partner, Bain Capital