James Corden Calls out Bill Maher’s Fat Shaming Comments, and Fans Are Applauding

After Bill Maher made jokes about obesity on his HBO series, Real Time With Bill Maher, late night talk show host and funny man, James Corden responded to the remarks in a heated segment on his CBS series, sharing his own testimonial as an individual battling weight problems.

On Maher’s series, the comedian and political commentator targeted individuals struggling with their weight, quipping how “fat isn’t a birth defect” and that “nobody comes out of the womb needing to buy two seats on the airplane.” He then went on to say how “fat-shaming doesn’t need to end, it needs to make a comeback.”

With the comments making the rounds on social media as Maher encouraged “some amount of shame” to take place, Corden caught wind and delivered a rebuttal Thursday night, taking aim at Maher’s remarks.

“If making fun of fat people made them lose weight, there’d be no fat kids in schools,” Corden said on The Late Late Show. “And I’d have a six-pack right now. There’s a common and insulting misconception that fat people are stupid and lazy, and we’re not,” Corden said.

Making digs at himself, Corden revealed that “fat-shaming never went anywhere,” and that if you were to “ask literally any fat person, we are reminded of it all the time.”

“We get it, we know. We know that being overweight isn’t good for us and I’ve struggled my entire life trying to manage my weight and I suck at it. I’ve had good days and bad months. I’ve basically been off and on diets since as long as I can remember and, well, this is how it’s going,” Corden continued, pointing to his body.

“We’re not all as lucky as Bill Maher, you know, we don’t all have a sense of superiority that burns 35,000 calories a day,” he said, adding that fat-shaming only harms fat people and triggers a great deal of depression and self-destructive behavior. “Let’s be honest, fat-shaming is just bullying. And bullying just makes the problem worse.”

Fans took to Twitter to sing the praises of Corden, with many proud of the British star for shutting down the often, divisive commentator.

Corden ended the segment by taking one more jab at Maher, urging the late night host to think hard about his words.

“While you’re encouraging people to think about what goes into their mouths, just think a little harder about what comes out of yours.”

Photo credit: CBS / Worldwide Pants