James Corden defends himself in Carpool Karaoke scandal

James Corden spoke directly to fans and answered all of the internet’s questions about Carpool Karaoke.

These days it is not often that a late night television show gets hit by a scandal. Most are too busy making jokes about scandals, whether from Hollywood or Washington, to get caught up in their own. But recently the tables finally turned for The Late Late Show with James Corden.

It has been a very viral month for CBS’ number two late night show. In just the past few days, James Corden’s name was all over Twitter as K-Pop supergroup BTS took over The Late Late Show. The BTS Army showered Corden with love and expressed their gratitude in some very special ways.

It was some much-needed good news for Corden after The Late Late Show was in the news for the wrong reasons. A fan video spread online earlier this month showing Corden filming “Carpool Karaoke” with Justin Bieber. The problem? The car was being towed on a trailer , not being driven by Corden.

Fans were surprised, amused, shocked, and just about every other emotion possible. Plenty of people online expressed that they felt cheated or that the popular “Carpool Karaoke” segment had lost some of what made it special.

It was another blow to Corden following the Cats fiasco. But whereas he was one part of a larger project in that movie, “Carpool Karaoke” is his baby and it was up to him to run damage control. He did that Wednesday night on The Late Late Show.

Corden offers a recap of how some media outlets covered the “Carpool” revelations. It was described as “dream-shattering” and “a con” while Corden himself was said to have been “exposed” by the video. Those are some strong reactions to say the least.

But as Corden explained, the incident with Justin Bieber was an anomaly. Typically Corden does drive the car, something that is usually very obvious when you watch the segments. When safety is an issue or The Late Late Show is doing something different then the car gets towed. It makes sense especially when you think about the potential reactions if everyone on the street looked over and saw Corden and Bieber stopped at a red light.

Hearing Corden’s response, it does sound like the criticism struck a nerve with him. It’s hard to know how many of those tweets or articles were serious and how many were faux-outrage done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. But if Corden went as far as to list which “Carpool Karaoke” bits used a trailer and which one he drove in, then he and The Late Late Show must have been proportionately annoyed.

If Corden and company really are bothered by the backlash then that is understandable. As he says, it still is a television show at the end of the date. These are comedy bits that are discussed, scheduled, planned, and rehearsed to some degree or another. If the truth behind “Carpool Karaoke” is really that upsetting then television fans would be wise not to go peeking behind any other curtains.

James Corden’s explanation wraps up with a trailer for season three of the AppleTV Carpool Karaoke series. Celebrities spotted included Fred Armisen, the cast of Stranger Things, and Darius Rucker. No doubt fans will be keeping a closer eye on who is really driving.