James Corden is one of my favorite British imports. He is thoughtful and quite funny and I absolutely love the fact that the man can sang! I know he has a reputation for being difficult, but James’s show has managed to avoid major controversy for the most part until now. A petition against James’s “Spill Your Guts” segment on The Late Late Show has received 45,000 signatures on Change.org for possibly stirring Anti-Asian sentiment. “Spill Your Guts” is a segment where guess are asked extremely personal questions. They can either answer the question or eat a food that James often labels as gross. Those foods are often indigenous Asian cuisine. James was asked on Howard Stern about the backlash against that segment. He said that he wanted to create a show that brings people joy and doesn’t upset them. So he has decided to change the segment. Below are a few more highlights via People:
During a recent appearance on Howard 101, the actor and comedian told host Howard Stern that he was aware of a petition that urged his show to alter the segment – which sees celebrities choose to answer questions or eat unique foods from around the world that many Americans might see as intimidating – and had taken action to do just that.
“We heard that story, and the next time we do that bit, we absolutely won’t involve or use any of those foods,” said Corden, 42.
Added the late-night host, “Our show is a show about joy and light and love, we don’t want to make a show to upset anybody. In the same way that when we played it with Anna Wintour, we gave her a pizza covered in cheeseburgers.”
The recent petition – which has collected over 45,000 signatures on Change.org – described the segment as regularly inclusive of foods “from different Asian cultures” like “balut, century old eggs, and chicken feet, and which are often regularly eaten by Asian people.”
“During these segments, he’s openly called these foods ‘really disgusting,’ and ‘horrific,’ ” the petition’s description continued. “In the wake of the constant Asian hate crimes that have continuously been occurring, not only is this segment incredibly culturally offensive and insensitive, but it also encourages anti-Asian racism.”
“So many Asian Americans are consistently bullied and mocked for their native foods, and this segment amplifies and encourages it,” the petition added.
It is so crazy because I have watched this segment several times and it has never crossed my mind how incredibly insensitive and offensive it is. It is very interesting how desensitized we are to other people’s pain, including myself. I am glad that James didn’t go on the “I’m not a racist” chitlin circuit like other hosts we know. He responded to the request to remove the foods off “The Spill Your Guts” segment, and he was not defensive. I would like to see more people respond in the way James did instead of getting offended and assuming folks were calling them racist.
I am glad that he is going to upgrade the show. James responded somewhat well to constructive criticism. I do hope he issues a more comprehensive apology, as some people are calling for, and donates money to a cause benefitting the Asian community.
One of the “Spill Your Guts” segments:
A few responses to the segment:
@kimssaira many of these foods have been around in asian cultures for thousands of years. sign the link in my bio to take this off the air ##fyp ##aapi
This Asian American artist and influencer wants James Corden to #CancelSpillYourGuts segment on his show. pic.twitter.com/KtkQ6fDbnU
— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 20, 2021
Photos credit: Avalon.red and via Instagram
I don’t understand the hate he gets sometimes. I quite like him. His acting is not that good but it’s ok. Is he really difficult behind the scenes not just rumours ? Is he another Ellen ?
The “whispers” about that have been a lot louder than whispers for awhile. The jolly nice guy is apparently an act for the audience (and probably celebrities). With his staff? Allegedly not so much to say the least. My guess is yes that his will be the next “Ellen” story to break.
As a white Westerner who loves to travel I regularly want to smack people in the head for these sort of ignorant and racist entertainment segments. “Oh look, foods that millions of people eat everyday but are weird to me! Isn’t that disgusting?” F**k you Corden. And like we have any high ground given the garbage we regularly let pass for food. “See it’s chocolate covered bacon, but the chocolate is just a bunch of chemicals we put together so it tastes sort of like chocolate and lasts for 15 years!” 🤢
he’s faker than fallon and meaner than ellen
Because he’s nearly up there with Ellen as far as being a raging a-hole to his underlings and staff and that’s well known here in L.A. in the biz. The stories about his abusive workplace ways will come out eventually, trust.
According to UK Twitter, no one in the British entertainment industry likes him because he’s arrogant, rude and entitled. I guess, the nice-guy-routine works better for an American audience but I’ve yet to hear any positive blind items about Corden behind the scenes.
I thought he was funny, but I have read nearly everywhere he is very much hated in Britain, rumor has it he has some kind of an Ellen situation, so I am waiting for some major scandal to happen.
Anyone who leaves Blighty and dares to be too successful, is hated in the UK.
☝🏽
This. I’m sure Brits thought he was getting too big for his britches. Sound familiar?
I like him. Maybe he can be a diva (which he quite frequently pokes fun at in his skits), but I don’t think he’s reached “cancel him!” levels yet
Thats a complete simplification and not what this is about. White males who leave Britain and become successful in America aren’t instantly hated see a number of white male movie stars who are very much beloved.. That kind of hate is reserved for black Britons who call out institutional racism. White males have it as easy in Britain as in America. And anyway some of the stuff about him not being very nice is coming from people in America. I don’t know if it’s true ( that he isn’t the nicest) and don’t really care about him as his show isn’t my thing but let’s not pretend it’s the same for white guys as for black people.
I don’t know, Idris Elba and Olivia Coleman are beloved both in GB and in the US, just like Cumberbatch, Tennant, Emma Thompson, Daniel Kaluuya, Harry Styles etc. Actually, so far, Corden is the only Brit who’s famous in the US who really really gets no love from the British fans at all.
He was very well liked when he first rose to fame over here in Britain, but it went to his head far too quickly and he turned into a total diva that was desperate for more. He went away for a while, and since he moved to the US he’s seemed to have calmed down a lot.
It’s not really a “too big for his britches” sentiment. There are multiple accounts of him being rude to members of the public. There’s also a story of a woman with a crying baby sitting down next to him in a plane. He didn’t react to the woman or the crying baby, just put noise cancelling earphones in, an eye mask etc. When the plane landed, the woman got up and began unpacking while trying to manage the crying child while Corden remained seated. The woman then cried out in frustration “Oh for f**k’s sake, you could at least hold the baby while I get the bags down!” It turns out the woman was his wife and the baby was their baby.
Now they are only rumours but I know during Spill Your Guts, Jimmy Kimmel asked him to name a member of his crew or eat and Corden couldn’t name a single one. It just kind of fuels the rumours.
Oh man, my angry little fingers were ready to respond about how nobody is obligated to look after anyone else’s child, especially as there are people who will freak if a stranger offers to hold their baby or will interpret offers of help as judgment (been there, never offering to help a stranger w a baby again)…and then I got to the end. Wow. If it’s true, she should have gone straight to a divorce lawyer upon deplaning.
Same, Dashen’ka, I was going to say that I’d hesitate to offer to hold a stranger’s child and that a man would probably face even more suspicion…and then I got to that last sentence. Husband and father of the year right there.
I wish there would be a show in eastern hemisphere countries where celebrities are forced to eat snails, squirrel, haggis, hotdogs, jello molds with broccoli, deep fried butter, deep fried candy bars, cheese (which is mold) etc, things that we enjoy in the west. I totally hear what everyone is saying about the problematic nature of gross out foods on his show, and at the same time, I hope we as a civilization can find ways to poke fun at our differences.
The larger issue is that the guy has Ellen-level work deficits, and I can’t enjoy watching a show when I know that the fun time guy is actually making life unpleasant for all the people who support him. I have heard it, I believe it, and if anyone who is forced to endure mistreatment at his hands, please know we’re with you.
Not all cheese is mold? But tbh, I think I’d be pretty entertained watching celebrities eat squirrels. Maybe he should just change it to unusual American food 🤔
yeah this is the kind of casual racism that really needs to go.
It’s good that he’s recognized that the segment was culturally insensitive but it also begs the question about how diverse his staff is. Are there no Asians on the show? And if they are, were they afraid to object to demeaning of their culture?
Making people eat any kind of food as a punishment is kind of not a good idea anyway. I wouldn’t find it entertaining.
Same here, I think it’s awful and not funny at all.
Making people eat food as a punishment seems like a projection for his own issues regarding food.
Doesn’t it though?
Yeah I have to agree, I’ve never found that entertaining or interesting, in any of the various shows who have tried it.
I’ve never liked him- there’s an intense, theater kid earnestness that for some reason I find off-putting on him. Plus he took over for my favorite late night host Craig Ferguson, and it was such a stark difference in personality. The rumors of his rudeness don’t help either.
@Lucy2 Craig Ferguson is my favourite late night host too! I especially love his interviews with Carrie Fisher.
Yes! He and Carrie clearly adored each other.
Thank goodness for youtube when I need a Craig fix!
I’ve heard whispers on other sites that he is a bit of a primadonna, but who knows. I think this segment sounds ignorant, not just insensitive. Glad he’s changing it, but the “humor” still seems off.
If he really wanted people to eat something disgusting there are a lot of American weird sht that he could have put on the segment. Fried butter? Fried cola? Velveeta? “Cheese” in a can? Because really, putting indigenous Asian cuisine as punishment is really insensitive. Btw chicken feet are delicious.
@ Lauren : Exactly. There is plenty of gross American food too. Even the stuff that tastes good at first but which your stomach will reject it. Hello, deep fried everything.
There’s actually a very cute video series on Youtube where people from extremely rural asian/middle eastern communities eat western fast food for their reactions.
But I think balut is objectively very gross, and I don’t see the problem with depicting it that way. Not every asian person likes eating chicken fetus.
So I’m a bit conflicted on this. I’m Filipino (born and raised in the Philippines), and I believe it was his reaction to the filipino delicacy called balut that really brought all this discussion.
I agree that Asian cuisine has either been othered or fetishized in the West, but I also get James’ reaction. I don’t think he should be crucified/cancelled over it.
Not all of us eat balut. Even we struggle to eat this. It is a delicacy for a reason. A lot of Filipinos love seeing foreigners struggle to eat this. There’s a reason why reaction videos of the dish is actually fun to watch and are popular with Filipinos.
Sometimes it does feel like people, specifically white liberals, are getting mad on our behalf without even asking the community first ya know?
But if certain sects of the Asian community have a problem with this, then I can’t really say anything. I too have to listen.
Before eating Vietnamese food was “cool” I remember people using it to “other” me. I live in the states and that’s very real casual racism. Don’t attack the people directly but attack them through their culture to show they are less.
Yeah um balut literally makes me gag. I’ve known about balut for a long time from a Filipino friend of mine who told me about how it makes her gag as well. Seeing the fully developed chick fetus in the egg and then seeing people eat it as is, is a bit too much for me. Kind of like those Fear Factor challenges. I don’t tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t eat. But personally, I can’t do it.
Favourite British import? That’s a weird way to refer to an actual person
How about the “British invasion” by the Beatles and Herman’s Hermits, that upset you too?
It’s a pretty common way to describe someone who successfully crosses over from the UK to USA. I hear it all the time.
I think there’s room for change, but I also think people shouldn’t be claiming certain things as theirs…chicken feet, cow tongue…that’s not Asian cuisine. Those are just ingredients. I can buy cow tongue here in France at the supermarket.
Now, I’d like to see some of the 1950’s Jell-O concoctions that were posted on one of the blogs make it to these food challenges. They look vomit-inducing. Or popcorn salad.
Cow tongue is a delicacy here too, but you’re not supposed to eat it like Corden and his guests eat it – biting a large chunk of it and all on their own. You’re supposed to cut it into thin slices and have little bites.
How you make the final product look and smell makes a big difference with food in general, no matter what the ingredients.
It’s possible that’s how they pick their food, too. That gross Icelandic fish smells like death, but while it will cause the guest to gag, it’ll do nothing for the viewer, who only sees fish. Chicken legs, bird embryos, obvious insects, now there’s something for the western (!) viewer too.
And since they’re making edible food, not just some random stuff put together, it’s bound to be some culture’s food. They could add really gross looking roadkill or something, to add a bit of our western flavour.
The Gallery of Regrettable Food has some cringe-worthy offerings.
I’ve had the good fortune to travel all over the world and have worked and lived with indigenous and tribal peoples on 4 continents, and my favorite way to dive right into their cultures is by asking them about their traditional foods. I love sampling them, but it HAS lead to me tasting some truly revolting (to my Western palate!) things, perhaps the worst of which was akutaq, or “Eskimo ice cream”: dried fish and berries mixed together with some sort of fat (usually caribou or moose, or simply Crisco in modern versions, but I tried it with whipped walrus tallow). The people who offer these delicacies usually know that I’m going to gag and dry heave enough to crack a rib after I taste them, and they get a huge kick out of it. So I can see the inherent humor in Corden’s segment, but I think the other cultures definitely need to be in on the joke for it work,
Also, Westerners who think certain foreign foods are bizarre or disgusting need to examine what they themselves are actually eating. For example, every imaginable part of a chicken can be thrown into a pot to make stock, but everybody still loves chicken soup. Most non-vegetarians have no objection to sausages, and those contain parts of the animals that most people would never eat on their own, and often even involve animal blood.
Dear Corden,
Go to any church basement get together hosted by the local ladies in the Midwest USA and you will finds all sorts of jello and broccoli salads to use in this segment. Definitely stop in Minnesota for lutefisk. Then go south for chicken feet, gizzards, chitlins. I don’t have any relatives out west, but I’m sure they have some traditional gross dishes that people fight about there too.
Picking only random gross foods and traditional Asian foods that are hard to eat was so limited. See how many options I came up with in just the US?
I feel like chicken feet would be controversial. It’s a pretty popular item at dim sum restaurants.
Ok, replace the chicken feet with crawdads. My uncle loved those. He would get them fresh out of the creek in his backyard. The point is every part of the world has food that’s hated and loved, not just by other cultures, but even by the people living next door. Using such a limited selection was just lazy and it’s what got them in trouble.
I would stay very far away from any of the Southern dishes if I were them. Although all kinds of Southerners eat them, a lot of them are associated with Black Southerners in particular.
I think they should drop the food thing generally. Once we get past obvious cooking errors, most food mockery is either making fun of what people from other cultures eat or making fun of what poor people eat.
We dislike him here as he’s widely known to be a douche and is about as funny as herpes. But hey! If you guys enjoy him, we’re delighted for you to keep him.
Great! Do Andrew Zimmern next! His whole show was based on this, and he’s irritating as hell.
I’ve heard he’s also unpleasant behind the scenes as well
I feel vindicated.
His comment about how they didnt want to upset anyone, in the same way, when played the game with Anna Wintour, they gave her pizza covered in cheese burgers.
?
So…..giving calorie dense food to a skinny woman is haha so funny? I just truly don’t understand what is the point he’s trying to make. Does an overweight person get a salad, and it’s a big laugh?
I read that as giving fast food to a condescending rich woman.
Glad they dropped this segment, and I don’t think they should continue doing it with American foods instead. Food is cultural and personal, and there isn’t just one American cuisine.
After a few of the bad idea jello molds, where do they go next? Chitterlings? Pig’s feet? That’s going to run into the same problem as mocking Asian foods. Squirrel? Road kill? Those are foods of poverty eaten by people who need protein. Surely the show can find other ways to be funny.
Dude’s vibe is fake and sinister af, imo.