Listen, most of us have had a few too many drinks and regretted kissing someone. James Corden might just have us beat after Variety posted a picture of him kissing a wide-smiled Sean Spicer.
Award shows, comedians, and hypocrisy are the backbones of our nation. Often, award shows are celebrations of hard work and astounding creative talent, and this year’s Emmy’s was no exception. Along with the Stranger Things cast looking way better than a group of prepubescent tweens should, it was a historic night for actors Riz Ahmed, the first Southwest Asian and first Muslim actor to win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, and Sterling Brown, the first black actor to win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Although his acceptance speech was cut off, the night was filled with joy and triumph.
However, nothing was quite like seeing former Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, roll onto stage at the tail end of host Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue–except, perhaps, seeing what happened after the awards.
British comedian and talk-show host James Corden wasted no time getting up to Spicer at the after party, where many other celebs were taking selfies with the President’s former go-to man. Corden, however, attempted to plant a big kiss on him, which was captured by Variety and posted on their Instagram page.
The Late Late Show host came under severe criticism from the Twitterverse, and other comedians who clearly were not as excited as he to have Spicer make a surprise appearance.
Many Twitter users called out Corden’s hypocrisy of “showing Sean Spicer some love” while he has tweeted & retweeted statements against the former Press Secretary, even calling for his being fired from the cabinet after his statements on the Holocaust.
The former Press Secretary for President Donald Trump appearing onstage to poke fun at the audience size, in reference to his comments falsely stating the audience size of Trump’s Inauguration, was controversial and disturbing to some. Many thought this normalized and glorified someone known for lying to the American people, and found it upsetting comedians were acting fondly towards the man who’s often the butt of their jokes.
This is not an isolated event, and Corden is far from being the first to capitalize on happily engaging with the very same people against whom they reproach so hilariously and adamantly. Jimmy Fallon has had his fair share of friendly Trump interactions while still condemning the President’s actions–or lack thereof– after Charlottesville as “shameful.” I, too, would ruffle the hair of someone against whom I deliver an address of their intolerance and inability to condemn white supremacy.
James Corden responded to the criticism as expected of an impassive comedian: With humor. “I know you think that is a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer but, in the spirit of Sean Spicer, no it isn’t,” he says. He goes further and downplays it, claiming “everyone was kissing ass last night at the Emmys. I just happened to kiss the biggest one there.”
This is a common and agitating theme in the media; we feel comedians speak with our best interests in mind, that they help us to “stay woke” in the jungle that is American current events, but this isn’t always the case. Comedians, not unlike our current POTUS, deeply care about ratings and strive to produce content which will garner views. The politics and political figures are easy targets for jokes and will undoubtedly get massive views, and so the comedians use them for their own advantage.
While some comedians do take a stand and focus on the policies and beliefs, like Samantha Bee’s constant blasting of Donald Trump’s sexism and Jimmy Kimmel’s recent direct address against the Graham Cassidy healthcare bill, most refuse to take a stand. They are often in a place of privilege where the policies they make fun of will not affect them, and they can go back and forth on their opinions of a politician whose actions will have genuine, lasting effect on our lives.
The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author’s, and not reflective of all Her Campus Media.