Ellen DeGeneres: Fans Dig up James Corden's Controversies After He's Floated as Host's Replacement

Daniel S. Levine

08/02/2020 10:04 pm EDT

After news surfaced that The Late Late Show host James Corden was being considered a replacement for Ellen DeGeneres if she leaves her daytime talk show, his critics revived Corden's own controversies. DeGeneres is in the middle of a toxic workplace scandal, as WarnerMedia investigates The Ellen DeGeneres Show's executive producers. The Emmy-winning host has apologized to her staff and vowed to make changes in the future.

NBC insiders told The Sun on Sunday that Corden is at the top of NBC Entertainment Chairman Paul Telegdy's wish list and is a "huge fan" of the CBS star. Telegdy is reportedly on the executive team overseeing the Ellen investigation, even though NBC is not directly involved in the production. Ellen is produced by Warner Bros.' Telepictures and is distributed by Warner Bros. It does air on several NBC-owned stations around the country though.

"This issue has fast-tracked everything and made everyone look at the future today," the insider told The Sun. "James Corden was being eyed for Ellen's job in the long term before any of this came to light." The insider said Corden would "freshen up daytime" and would be "allowed to build a new afternoon era." Corden has not commented on the situation. Ellen executive producer Andy Lassner also shot down speculation that the show is being canceled.

In light of this news, Corden's critics brought up the British comedian's own controversies. Corden rose to fame on Gavin & Stacey and gained international attention in 2011 when he created his first Carpool Karaoke sketch, which featured George Michael. In 2015, he replaced Craig Ferguson as The Late Lake Show host, and CBS later picked Corden to host the Tony Awards twice and the Grammys twice.

​

Corden is one of several celebrities who have seen Reddit AMAs go awry. In 2019, Corden and his team ended a Reddit AMA early after the conversation was bombarded with critics who called him "rude," an "a-hole" and "c—." One person mentioned a Writer's Guild of American union meeting for late-night writers in which Corden allegedly called for writers to be paid less, reports the Daily Mail. Corden denied the allegation on Twitter.

​

Another controversial moment for Corden came in 2017 when he kissed President Donald Trump's first press secretary, Sean Spicer, at an Emmys afterparty. During a monologue, Corden claimed he was drunk when the infamous photo was taken and tried to joke about it. "Anyone ever have that feeling when you get a little drunk and then wake up the next morning and think, 'Oh God, who did I kiss last night?' It's a bit like that," he said. "To be fair, everyone was kissing ass last night at the Emmys; I just happened to kiss the biggest one there."

​

In October 2017, only days after the New York Times published its first report on Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse allegations, Corden made a joke about Weinstein at a charity event in Los Angeles. "It's a beautiful night here in L.A. It's so beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked tonight up to his hotel to give him a massage," he said. "I don't know whether that groan was that you like that joke or you don't like that joke. If you don't like that joke, you should probably leave now." Corden later apologized, noting "sexual assault is no laughing matter."

​

​

​

Disclosure: PopCulture. is owned by Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.

Latest News