James Corden has hit back at criticism that he copied a joke originally made by comedian Ricky Gervais, saying he delivered it “obviously not knowing it came from him”.
The Late Late Show host gave a monologue on Monday, addressing Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, and told a gag that viewers pointed out was remarkably similar to one from Gervais’ 2018 show Humanity.
Gervais drew attention to the similarities in a now-deleted Twitter post.
In the joke, Corden says, “When you see Elon Musk talk about Twitter he does this thing where he says, ‘Well, it’s the town square.’
“But it is not. Because if someone puts a sign in a town square that says “guitar lessons available,” you’re not going to get the townspeople to say, “I don’t want to play guitar! I want to play piano, shit!
“Well, that sign wasn’t for you, it was for someone else. You don’t have to be upset about all this!”
Responding to the allegations, Corden tweeted from The Late Late Show account: “Inadvertently told a brilliant Ricky Gervais joke on the show last night, obviously not knowing it was coming from him.
“It’s great, because it’s a Ricky Gervais joke. You can watch all of Ricky’s great specials on Netflix. J x”.
He inadvertently told a brilliant Ricky Gervais joke on last night’s show, obviously not knowing it was coming from him. It’s great, because it’s a Ricky Gervais joke. You can watch all of Ricky’s great specials on Netflix. Jx
— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) November 1, 2022
Gervais defended his fellow comedian earlier in the day after a Twitter user asked if Corden asked for permission to use the joke.
He replied: “No. I think one of the writers “made it up” for him.
“I doubt he would knowingly just copy such a famous routine word for word like that.”
In April, Corden said he would step down as host of The Late Late Show.
The actor and comedian recently made headlines after being banned from New York’s Balthazar restaurant for alleged misconduct. Restaurant owner Keith McNally claimed he had been “extremely rude” to his staff on two separate occasions.
Corden later addressed the incident during an episode of The Late Late Show and said it was “never my intention” to upset the staff, but acknowledged he had been “obnoxious” during the incident. McNally has since overturned the ban.