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James Corden ‘hits back’ at Lily Allen over ‘tacky’ comment

‘Gavin & Stacey’ star ‘is over people talking about him in a negative way’

Jacob Stolworthy
Sunday 11 August 2024 10:52 BST
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James Corden flirts with Lily Allen on her chat show

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James Corden has reportedly addressed negative remarks made about him by Lily Allen on a recent podcast.

Over the years, Corden has found himself at the centre of criticism by numerous famous stars, including Mel B, who called him the “rudest celebrity” she’s ever met, and Sharon Osbourne, who issued a candid complaint about the Gavin & Stacey star on Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year.

Speaking on BBC podcast, Miss Me?, singer-turned-actor Allen savagely referred to Corden as her “famous beg friend”, stating: “[He] came on my chat show and was very flirtatious with me, and we sort of made friends and I introduced him to a group of my friends.”

A “beg friend” is described as a person who “begs” for your attention in the hope of forming a friendship, to a point that it becomes off-putting.

During a discussion with her podcast co-host Miquita Oliver, Allen described that period of time as “a bit hazy”, but said that Corden had suggested in his memoir, “that I was like, leading him on or something, which I definitely wasn’t”.

Corden wrote in his 2011 memoir May I Have Your Attention: “She’s confident, funny and intelligent. We got talking at the party after the film and she asked me for my phone number, which was a bit embarrassing as I was standing with my girlfriend at the time.”

According to DailyMail.com, Corden thinks Allen’s comments were “tacky” and is “a bit of a t*** to have said anything at all”.

A source stated: “James gets a bunch of heat on how he treats people over and over again and is a very polarising person. So, when Lily recently talked s*** about him, to James, it was just another day in his life, just another hater.

Lily Allen described James Corden as a ‘beg friend’
Lily Allen described James Corden as a ‘beg friend’ (Instagram)

“He believes he has never been desperate and deserves better and is pretty much over people talking about him in a negative way. But the only way that will change is when he starts to change.’

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The source also said that Corden “doesn’t get why he upsets so many people because he is just being himself.”

In 2022, restaurant owner Keith McNally described Corden as “a tiny cretin of a man” for allegedly making nasty comments and demands of his workers at Balthazar on two occasions.

Writing in an Instagram post, McNally declared he had “86’d” the comedian from his New York restaurant and Corden was no longer welcome there.

James Corden ‘is over people talking about him in a negative way’
James Corden ‘is over people talking about him in a negative way’ (YouTube)

Corden, who previously said he had done “nothing wrong”, later admitted that he made “a rude, rude comment”, adding that “it was never my intention” to upset the staff.

McNally then lifted the ban following Corden’s apology on The Late Late Show.

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