James Corden's Most Controversial Moments, Explained

In October 2022, British comedian and late night U.S. talk show host James Corden found himself in hot water after he was accused of being rude to wait staff at New York restaurant Balthazar. He was briefly, yet very publicly, banned by owner Keith McNally, who penned an Instagram post claiming that Corden had been “extremely nasty” to wait staff on two occasions. One incident involved Corden finding a hair in his dish and allegedly demanding free drinks. The second, now infamous, run-in centred on an egg-yolk omelette, which apparently contained a small amount of egg white, and was then sent back out with fries instead of salad. “That's when James Corden began yelling like crazy to the server: "You can't do your job! You can't do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself!" McNally claimed on Instagram.

The actor has since apologised for the latter incident on his own U.S. talk show. Though he denied McNally’s claims that he was “yelling” at staff, Corden admitted that he made “a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself, and it is a comment I deeply regret.” He also remarked: “It was wrong… it was ungracious to the server.” McNally accepted Corden’s on-air apology, writing: “James Corden very graciously apologised for his outburst at Balthazar. It takes a real man to do this.”

While this particular episode might be water under the bridge now, Corden has found himself in hot water once more, this time facing accusations from fellow late night host and Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen of copying the set of his show, Watch What Happens Live. More on that, and the other controversies previously linked to the comedian, below.

Accusations From Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen has spoken out against Corden, calling out the host for allegedly copying his set. During an episode of the Table for Two with Bruce Brozzi podcast, Cohen — the host of Bravo’s late night talk show Watch What Happens Live — vocalised his stance.

While discussing how WWHL “redefined what the late night talk show is” on U.S. television, he mentioned how his show was the first to incorporate a bar on set, which Corden also did after taking over The Late Late Show from Craig Ferguson. “James Corden kind of wound up….’ Cohen said, seemingly about to call the star out. But Bozzi finished his sentence by saying that Corden “ripped off” the entire set. “There you go,” Cohen replied. “I am so glad we’re still going. That [the show] is, like great, copy my set … go with God.”

Eagle-eyed fans may notice similarities between the sets. There’s a feature wall on Corden’s stage that has a similar set-up to WWHL, in addition to an array of novelty ornaments and framed photos. Cohen’s set is also a little more cramped and small, and they also have the same colour chairs. Bustle has reached out to James Corden’s representatives for comment following Cohen’s comments.

The Plagiarism Accusations

On Monday, Oct. 31, Corden opened his Late Late Show Halloween episode with a monologue that addressed Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter. “When you see Elon Musk talk about Twitter he does this thing where he goes ‘Well, it’s the town square,’” he told the audience. “But it isn’t. Because if someone puts up a poster in a town square that says ‘guitar lessons available,’ you don’t get people in the town going, ‘I don’t want to play the guitar. I want to play the piano, you piece of sh*t.’” Corden then concluded, “That sign wasn’t for you, it was for someone else. You don’t have to get mad.”

However, fans were quick to point out that Corden’s gag was strikingly similar to one told by Ricky Gervais during a stand-up comedy show years prior. Having been made aware of the situation, Gervais retweeted a side-by-side video of his original joke and Corden’s monologue. The Office alum later commented, in response to a fan: “I reckon one of the writers 'came up with it' for him. I doubt he would knowingly just copy such a famous stand-up routine word for word like that.” Bustle has reached out to James Corden’s representatives in light of the controversy.

This Dreadful Joke

Presented without further comment, a series of “one-liners” from AmfAR Gala 2017. “Here in LA, it’s so beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked tonight up to his hotel to give him a massage.” Followed by “It's been weird this week watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water. Ask any of the women who watched him take a bath.” Read the room.

This Disastrous Reddit AMA

Swinging by Reddit for a nothing-off-limits “Ask Me Anything” session is a celebrity rite-of-passage by now: everyone from former U.S. President Barack Obama to pop icon Madonna has given it a whirl. Unfortunately, Corden’s joint AMA alongside his producer Ben Winston — and five other members of his Carpool Karaoke team — took a turn for the worse when users began replying with a series of allegations about his behaviour. One commenter claimed that Corden advocated for lower pay for his writers, while another claimed to have witnessed him being rude to servers. “You won’t remember me, but me and my friends sat at a table next to you and Harry Styles and some others in Manchurian Legends in London’s Chinatown about six years ago. We didn’t bother you, but you were a massively entitled c*nt who yelled and treated the wait staff like sh*t and when one of my party politely suggested you calm down, you got really aggressive and threatening,” they wrote. Corden only answered a handful of Redditers' questions before ducking out of the AMA.

Meow!

Despite personally starring in the much-maligned and accidentally iconic adaptation of Cats (Corden played Bustopher Jones) the actor didn’t hesitate to mock the film at the Oscars alongside his co-star Rebel Wilson. Appearing in two comedy cat costumes as they presented the 2020 award for Best Visual Effects, Corden joked that “nobody understands more than us the importance of good visual effects.” The Visual Effects Society didn’t take kindly to the remark, getting their claws out for a sternly-worded statement. “The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly,” they said. “On a night that is all about honouring the work of talented artists, it is immensely disappointing that The Academy made visual effects the butt of a joke.” Meow!

Plane-gate

Others have pointed out an old edition of Popb*tch — a celebrity newsletter containing various secrets, blind-items, and bits of insider gossip. Though it should be noted that everything that appears on the newsletter is just a rumour, and may be nothing more than an outlandish claim, a few people watching Corden’s apology remembered a certain item that appeared back in 2017, whereby the talk show host was accused of being a less-than-stellar travelling companion.

Crew Do You Think You Are?

Back in 2016, The Late Late Show With James Corden saw the British comedian stumble over a simple question while playing a round of Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts with his guest, fellow talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The pair asked each other personal questions, which they could avoid answering by eating disgusting plates containing things like bull penis and jellyfish. “Name two of the cameramen in this room,” Kimmel said, challenging Corden. “That is a great question,” Corden replied, looking embarrassed. “It’s a different crew tonight actually,” he joked. In the end, he opted to drink a pungent fish smoothie rather than admitting that he possibly couldn’t name his own production crew.

The Sir Patrick Stewart Face-Off

While hosting the Glamour Awards in 2010, James Corden had a very public spat with actor Sir Patrick Stewart. “When the presenters are up here, and the recipients are receiving their awards, don’t stand at the back of the stage with your hands in your pockets, looking around as though you wish you were anywhere but here,” the veteran actor told Corden, pausing the show to criticise his hosting skills. Animosity between the pair grew; Stewart made a series of poorly-judged quips about Corden’s weight, while Corden pretended to call for a cab. “Can we get a taxi ready quickly, please? The old man going home," he said. The pair have since patched things up, however, and made a comedy video about the argument for charity.

Poorly-Judged Gay Jokes & Slurs

Even Corden would most likely rather forget about one particular skit from his sketch show with Gavin and Stacey collaborator Matthew Horne. In the regular sketch, Horne played a stereotypical caricature of a camp gay newsreader who reports from South London estates and war zones: “I can’t imagine we would do that sketch today,” Corden later said. He’s also been criticised for kissing a whole bunch of men, ranging from Harry Styles and David Walliams to right-wing former Donald Trump aide Sean Spicer, for laughs.

Corden also attracted criticism when his beloved comedy Gavin & Stacey returned to our screens for a much-awaited Christmas special, reuniting the cast after years apart. It was a touching episode in parts, exploring the relationship between Corden’s character Smithy and Nessa (Ruth Jones) in far more depth. However, some viewers questioned why the show’s writers, Corden and Jones, turned the homophobic slur in Christmas song “Fairytale Of New York” into one of the episode’s punchlines. The slur was later removed for the show’s re-run.