James Corden Regrets Kissing Sean Spicer, As He Should

The 69th Annual Emmy's were big on the glitz, glamour, and Big Little Lies, but the show was also big on getting political, which included trotting former White House press secretary Sean Spicer out for a joke or two. James Corden was photographed kissing Sean Spicer on the cheek post-Emmys, and possibly trying to get in on the joke, but it just wasn't wasn't a good look. Now, The Late Late Show host has commented on the controversial snap and he regrets it.

Many viewers weren't exactly thrilled that Spicer was invited to the Emmys in the first place. By having him on the show, and making light of his tenure in President Trump's White House, it gave off the idea that all should be forgiven now. If he can come on the Emmys and joke about crowd sizes, everyone can just forget everything that happened while he was press secretary.

Corden, who has shot to fame as of late with his Carpool Karaoke segments, got in on the "fun" and kissed Spicer on the cheek in a photo posted on Variety's Instagram account. One user commented on the Instagram photo, "This is offensive. Why would anyone want to normalise hatred and bigotry like this?" [sic]. Another user stated, "So James Corden is cancelled."

It didn't take long for Corden to comment on the photo and the controversy himself. On Monday night's episode of The Late Late Show he first joked about the photo and the fact that Spicer was even at the Emmys at all. He said in his monologue, "Sean Spicer actually did make a cameo at last night's ceremony and according to some reports at the after party, Spicer was the most popular guy in the room ... These Hollywood phonies, kissing up to Sean Spicer are disgusting. Who did this? Who are we talking about here?" The show then inserted the picture of Corden kissing Spicer. Corden then joked, "I know you think that's a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer, but in the spirit of Sean Spicer, no it isn't."

He went on in his monologue (which can be viewed in full on CBS) to say that he regretted it and recognized how some people were let down by his appearance in the snap. He said, "Understandably, some people have been disappointed by this photo. In truth, I am disappointed in it, as well. I've been reading a lot of harsh comments on Twitter today and I hear you loud and clear. So much so I'm really starting to regret that Carpool Karaoke we filmed with Steve Bannon."

After Corden's statement of regret, some people still took to Twitter to let their voices be heard.

This user "was rooting" for James Corden. It doesn't sound like they will be now.

Another user said even joking about it afterwards in an apology isn't enough. They said, "I love James Corden but this isn't funny. Joking about it makes it worse. This is reality. EVERYONE needs to stop making it reality TV."

This user summed it up with, "I'm just as disappointed with James Corden as he is with himself".

It sounds like Corden understands why some are upset with the photo and seems to see it as a mistake on his part. Still, it's a little odd that it took some "harsh comments on Twitter" to make him understand that posing for a picture like that with Spicer wasn't the best thing that he could have done. But, maybe those comments will make Corden think twice before posing with someone like Spicer again in the future.