Culture

James Corden, Allegedly Not A Great Person, Might Replace Ellen, Also Allegedly Not Great

"Famously kind James Corden."

by Jared Richards  3 August 2020
James Corden rumoured to replace Ellen DeGeneres

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

With rumours that Ellen DeGeneres is getting ousted from her own talk-show, as stories of a toxic work environment shift public perspectives on her ‘nicest woman in Hollywood’ persona, a spate of names are being thrown around the replace her. With Page Six reporting that James Corden is high on the list, people are quick to point out that he isn’t exactly known for being a great guy either.

While the Ellen team is quick to shrug-off rumours that the TV host is going anywhere, that hasn’t stopped the presses from speculating that she’s on her way out. Last week, the show announced it was launching an internal investigation into allegations regarding bullying and racism in its working environment, and later fired multiple management staff.

Related
The 'Ellen' Show Is Under Investigation Over Toxic, Racist Workplace Allegations

In an internal statement, DeGeneres distanced herself from her own workplace while expressing regret for any toxic conditions.

“As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done,” she wrote. “Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.“

Afterwards, she was criticised again, including by Everybody Loves Raymond actor Brad Garrett and Back To The Future star Lea Thompson, who both shared on social media that it was ‘common knowledge’ that Ellen wasn’t a particularly nice person to work with.

In response, rumours continued to swell — and with Late Show and Carpool Karaoke host James Corden rumoured to take over, stories of his own allegedly brattish behaviour are resurfacing, from encounters with hospitality staff to videos of his hostile interviews and a horror story about him being rude to his own wife for not quietening their baby on a flight.

While it’s near-impossible to verify many of these stories, they’ve circulated for years online: in 2017, UK publication The Tab published an article called “Actually, James Corden has always been a bit of a dickhead”, to give you an idea of things.

Beyond Corden’s alleged behaviour, others are a little disappointed that one of Hollywood’s most prominent lesbians would be replaced by a straight white man — and one who already has an incredibly successful show.

Time will tell what happens — in the meantime, Dakota Johnson, like her Suspiria character, only grows more and more powerful.