James Corden has said he is revising a controversial segment on his Late Late Show that has been accused of anti-Asian racism.
The ‘Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts’ bit sees celebrities face a choice between revealing secrets or eating certain foods – some of which are Asian delicacies.
Recently, a TikTok clip went viral that highlighted how Corden and guest Jimmy Kimmel called foods such balut (boiled fertilized egg dish), pídàn (thousand-year-old egg) and xuě dòufǔ (pig blood) “horrible” and “disgusting”.
In the wake of this, video creator Kim Saira started a Change.org petition to either change the foods or remove the segment, and also asked for an apology from Corden and funds donated to Asian American organisations working to help Asian-owned restaurants and small businesses.
@kimssaira ok but this is actual Asian food & youre going on live tv telling people how gross it is. thats cringe
“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,” the petition states.
“So many Asian Americans are consistently bullied and mocked for their native foods, and this segment amplifies and encourages it.”
Responding to the backlash, Corden said in an interview with Howard Stern that he would be changing the foods used.
“We heard that story, and the next time we do that bit we absolutely won’t involve or use any of those foods,” he said. “As you said at the start, our show is a show about joy and light and love, we don’t want to make a show to upset anybody.”
Referencing an appearance by Anna Wintour as a possible way forward, he added: “In the same way that when we played it with Anna Wintour, we gave her a pizza covered in cheeseburgers.”
Saira has since said she is disappointed with Corden’s comments, writing in an email to Today: “The Late Late Show did not reach out to me about this statement, I actually found out from another news source I was interviewing with.
“After listening to what he said, to be completely honest with you, I’m really disappointed in this statement, which in my opinion, isn’t an apology.
“In my petition, I have specifically asked for James Corden to publicly apologize on his show, and the reason why I was really specific about that was because I think that it is imperative for his hundreds of thousands of viewers to understand the harm that mocking these foods, rooted in Asian cultures, has on Asian people who still eat them.
“Besides that, I still think he should be donating to Asian organizations as well. I’m still looking forward to whether he will address this publicly and apologize.
“If the Late Late show doesn’t respond, I’ll take it upon myself and the Asian American communities and people who have helped me with this event, to create our own fundraiser to benefit Asian American organizations, since the Late Late Show has just ignored and refused it.”
