(CNN) Dave Chappelle on Sunday accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The award is considered the highest accolade in comedy and recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in the vein of 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, better known by his pseudonym, Mark Twain.

"I love my art form because I understand every practitioner of it, whether I agree with them or not I know where they're coming from. They want to be heard, they got something to say, there's something they notice. They just want to be understood," Chappelle said. "I love this genre, it saved my life."

A lineup of entertainers, including Chappelle's writing partner Neal Brennan, Common, Bradley Cooper, Tiffany Haddish, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Lorne Michaels, Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart and others paid tribute to the comedian.

"He's not just a comedian, that's the way that he channels that knowledge and that process. What he is, is he's the black Bourdain," said Stewart, referring to Anthony Bourdain , host of the CNN show "Parts Unknown," who died last year.

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