Nothing new for American comedian and talk show host James Corden, who is making headlines again after being banned from a New York restaurant for abusive behavior. This misstep adds to a series of controversies concerning him: here is a summary.
• Read also: Accused of misbehaving, James Corden believes he has “done nothing wrong”
• Read also: ‘A moron of a man’: James Corden banned from restaurant for abusive behavior
1. His public image
While James Corden’s public image is that of a comical and endearing Briton, his behavior in private, when stepping out of character, has been described as spiteful and arrogant.
On October 17, Keith McNally posted a photo of Corden on his Instagram account banishing him from his restaurant, Balthazar, on Manhattan Island in New York City, calling him “a moron of a man.” Indeed, the host and actor would have behaved badly on more than two occasions with the restaurant staff; the restorer therefore felt the need to denounce it publicly.
In his popular “Spill Your Guts” segment, James Corden was unable to name two cameramen working for his talk show. Indeed, his competitor Jimmy Kimmel asked him: “Name two of the cameramen in this room.” Corden jokingly replied “it’s a different crew tonight” because he couldn’t answer; he must have had a fish smoothie…
In the past, Corden has allegedly argued against pay raises for writers writing for his late-night show. James later responded on Twitter to one saying what he was saying was “completely untrue” and a misunderstanding.
A second popular segment on Corden’s talk show is “Carpool Karaoke,” where he drives around and befriends a celebrity with whom he sings popular songs. However, the whole thing reportedly received poor reviews from listeners due to the contrived staging, not helped by the fact that it was revealed that the car is actually being towed and the host is not actually driving it.
2. His conflicts with other celebrities
For a late-night show host, James Corden has had more than his fair share of feuds and fights with other celebrities over the years. Bill Maher, Ricky Gervais, Ricky Whittle, Artie Lange, Liam Gallagher, Pierce Brosnan, Asia Argento and Rose McGowan are some of the celebrities who have clashed with Corden or expressed negative comments about him.
His former situation comedy colleague Gavin & Stacey Rob Brydon, had to confront him about his “childish” behavior, as did his own sisters, claiming he was acting like an “asshole”. Corden reportedly started therapy with a psychologist in connection with these issues.
During the Glamor Women of the Year awards ceremony in 2010, actor Patrick Stewart, known for his role as Jean-Luc Picard in star trek, expressed his frustration with Corden over the way he presented the show. Indeed, the host would have lacked respect for the winners. His response, which was intended to be humorous, was awkward and appeared sarcastic to viewers.
Finally, James Corden sparked controversy in 2017 when he kissed President Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer at the after party for Emmy’s American Television Awards. Afterwards, Corden justified himself by claiming that he was drunk when the photo was taken. “To be honest, everyone kissed last night; I happened to kiss the biggest one there,” he said.
3. His dodgy jokes
His poor joke choices often landed him in hot water, fell flat, or provoked an overtly negative reaction.
For example, during his “Spill Your Guts” segment, Corden featured an Asian dish, the balut, as one of the “punishments” of his game and called it disgusting. the balut is a fertilized duck embryo and is considered a refined product in some Southeast Asian countries.
People have pointed out how Corden’s segment often portrays Asian food negatively and even created a petition with over 47,000 signatures to have the “Spill Your Guts” segment removed from his talk show. James then edited the segment.
In 2012, during the Brit Awards, James Corden, who was the host of this award ceremony, cut short the speech of Adele, who had won the award for album of the year, which the singer did not appreciate. James Corden had cut it short under pressure from producers, who feared the ceremony would go over the allotted time. Adele then faced the audience and raised her middle finger towards the stage.
James Corden’s worst blow in terms of dodgy jokes had to be the moment he caused outrage by laughing at the Harvey Weinstein scandal. In 2017, when he was the emcee of a special concert for AIDS research in Los Angeles, he made several jokes deemed “insensitive” about the crimes of the fallen director. The backlash against Corden has been huge.
4. His appearances in unappreciated films
James Corden’s acting career was officially launched after the success he achieved playing the role of Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith on the award-winning show Gavin & Spaceyvery popular in Britain.
It was only after this role that his reputation as an actor deteriorated. Corden took on multiple diverse roles, which resulted in many failures. These include critically destroyed films, such as Cinderella, Lesbian Vampire Slayers and The secret world of emojis. He also allegedly exploited so-called ‘offensive’ gay stereotypes when he starred in the film. The Prom.
However, his most notable role according to his detractors must be the one he held in the film Cats, where he played Bustopher Jones. Although Corden said he has no regrets about taking part in this film production, he admitted that he was unlikely to watch the film.