James Corden was recently called out for copying one of Ricky Gervais’ stand-up jokes, and now the comedian has explained himself.
Things just seem to be getting worse for Corden…
As Gervais recently accused him of copying his joke “word for word.”
The joke in question was actually used by Corden on The Late Late Show.
Read on for the full story.
Now, who doesn’t know who James Corden is?
The British comedian/actor has become somewhat of a national treasure here in the States.
He began his comedy career in the UK…
Where he co-wrote and acted in the hit British sitcom Gavin and Stacey with fellow actress Ruth Jones, and the rest is history!
The actor is now best known for his hosting the talk show The Late Late Show here in the States, which first aired in 1995…
And after many different hosts taking their turn in the limelight, Corden succeeded Craig Ferguson in 2015, who was the last former host of the show.
However, although Corden has achieved a lot, it seems he’s let fame get to his head…
As a lot of reports have surfaced over the last several years that the star thinks he’s above everyone else.
Social media is flooded with comments from former workers and fans that have met the star and regretted their interaction.
And it seems his attitude is so bad, that the UK doesn’t want him to return!
Corden revealed earlier this year that he plans to go back to the UK…
After revealing he wants to leave The Late Late Show in 2023.
Soon after, a petition online grabbed eyeballs, attempting to block Corden from entering the UK…
The petition created by Graham Stoner claims that the UK has already had enough to deal with in recent years, so Corden should be left “on some little uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland.”
It even goes on to suggest that the absence of the comedian has been “a beacon of hope.”
The petition goes further, saying: “We’ve had to collectively deal with the impact of the Tory government, Brexit, and COVID-19.”
Stoner urged the public to sign the petition, even stating: “I beg you, if you do one thing today, please, I implore you to sign this petition.”
Unfortunately, the founder of the petition says it’s “inevitable he’ll be back on British shores soon.”
Ben Turner, co-founder of Corden’s production company said: “The Late Late Show is a big commitment that’s taken up so much of his time. But it is a big moment for us.” Adding he’s “really excited about having him back in the UK.”
It was 8 years ago, Corden left the UK to venture out on American TV…
Corden has even had the chance to rub shoulders with the biggest names in Hollywood — including Terry Crews!
Corden has also expressed his love for Los Angeles.
However, he said he and his wife Julia Carey are contemplating moving back to the UK before he made the big announcement that he plans to leave next year.
But it appears the States might be glad to see the back of the star…
This comes after a restaurant owner in New York confirmed Corden’s attitude is totally out of touch with reality.
Owner of the Balthazar restaurant chain Keith McNally recalled a recent meltdown he had at one of his staff members.
The restauranteur took to Instagram to share the moment he was forced to kick Corden and his wife out of his restaurant.
The seventy-one-year-old shared 2 reports from the restaurant’s managers, writing: “James Corden is a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man.
And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened twenty-five years ago.”
He explained: “I don’t often eighty-six a customer, to today I eighty-sixed Corden.
Here are 2 examples of the funny man’s treatment of my staff. He behaviored similarly in my former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, a few years back.” [sic]
Sharing the reports, McNally wrote: “In June, James Corden was here on table sixty-one. (Although this is diabolical, it happens very occasionally in all restaurants.) After eating his main course, Corden showed the hair to Balthazar manager G. who was very apologetic.
“(Although this is diabolical, it happens very occasionally in all restaurants.) After eating his main course, Corden showed the hair to Balthazar manager G. who was very apologetic.
“Corden was extremely nasty to G, and said: ‘Get us another round of drinks this second.
“Corden was extremely nasty to G, and said: ‘Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way I write any nasty reviews in Yelp or anything like that’.”
The second read: “James Corden was at Balthazar with his wife on October 9 for brunch. He asked for a table outside.
“Brunch Maitre D’ Allie Wolters took the party to table 301. Mr. Corden’s wife ordered an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese and salad.
“A few minutes after they received the food, James called their server, M. K. and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk.
“M. K. informed the floor manager, G. The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad.”
It continued: “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!’
“M.K. was very apologetic and brought G. over to the table. He returned the dish, and after that, everything was fine.
“He gave them promo Champagne glasses to smooth things out. G. said that Corden was pleasant to him but nasty to the server.
“M.K. was very shaken, but professional that she is, continued to finish her shift.”
After the post went viral, McNally gave an update, revealing that Corden had given him a “groveling apology.”
He wrote: “James Corden just called me and apologized profusely. Having f***** up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances. So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for 9 months, I’ll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not.
“But… anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anyway.
“Especially Balthazar. So come back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is Forgiven. xx”
Instagram users quickly took to the comment section to share their thoughts, with many urging the comedian to apologize to the staff.
One wrote: “He should go in there and apologize to the staff and give them a huge tip.”
A second chimed: “Hope he comes back and tips the waitstaff a ton of money!”
However, the star publicly addressed the incident in his own way…
Corden explained his actions during an episode of The Late Late Show.
“Things are going to get written about me. ‘Never Complain, Never Explain’ is very much my motto. But as my Dad pointed out to me on Saturday, he said ‘Son, well you did complain, so you might need to explain,” he started.
“Look when you make a mistake you’ve got to take responsibility, so I thought I would share with you what happened.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York with some friends, and we went for breakfast at one of my absolute favorite restaurants. It’s a place called Balthazar. And I genuinely love it there. I love the food, the vibe, the service.”
Corden continued, explaining that his wife suffers from a food allergy and claiming that she was served food that would trigger this.
He said: “But she hadn’t taken a bite of it or anything, no worries – we sent it back. All was good.
“As her meal came wrong to the table the third time – in the heat of the moment, I made a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself, and it is a comment I deeply regret.
“I understand the difficulties of being a server. I worked shifts at restaurants for years. I have such respect and I value anyone that does such a job.”
He explained that he loves McNally’s place because “the team at that restaurant are so great”, calling the manager and server that he interacted with “lovely.”
“But here’s the truth of it. Because I didn’t shout, or scream – I didn’t get up out of my seat, I didn’t call anyone names or use derogatory language – I’ve been walking around thinking I hadn’t done anything wrong… right?”
“But the truth is I have. I made a rude comment, and it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server,” he concluded.
But now it appears the star has found himself in yet another controversial position…
Gervais, another British comedian, shared a clip of a recent episode of Corden’s The Late Late Show, accusing him of copying one of his jokes.
The now-deleted tweet alleged Corden copied the joke about a town square poster for guitar lessons “word for word”, as per the Daily Mail.
Gervais alleged that the joke comes from his own Netflix stand-up.
Ricky Gervais: Humanity came out in 2018.
The Late Late Show host made the joke on Monday October 31.
In the clip, Corden said: “When you see Elon Musk talk about Twitter, he does this thing where he goes, ‘Well, it’s the town square.’ But it isn’t, ‘cause 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 wanna play the guitar! I wanna play the piano, you piece of s***!’
“It’s like, ‘That sign wasn’t for you – it was for somebody else. You don’t have to get mad about all of it.’”
Viewers immediately spotted the similarities.
The After Life star then shared side-by-side snippets of his own gig versus Corden’s joke on his show.
He captioned it: “The bit about the town square advert for guitar lessons is brilliant.”
However, Gervais soon deleted the tweet, claiming that he “felt sorry for Corden.”
When asked if Corden asked permission to use the joke, Gervais responded: “No. 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,” he concluded.
And now, Corden has addressed the subject…
Having seen the backlash on Twitter, Corden spoke out about the issue on The Late Late Show’s Twitter page.
“Inadvertently told a brilliant Ricky Gervais joke on the show last night, obviously not knowing it came from him,” he wrote.
Adding: “It’s brilliant because it’s a Ricky Gervais joke. You can watch all Ricky’s excellent specials on Netflix. J x”
You can watch the comparison here.
What do you make of the blunder?