Lily Allen has spoken out about the early days of her friendship with James Corden, labeling the talk show host a “beg friend” who was “very flirtatious” with her.
In the latest episode of her podcast, Miss Me?, the 39-year-old singer said the former Late Late Show host misread the signs of their relationship.
The two met in 2008 on Lily’s talk show Lily Allen and Friends.
When answering a fan question about whether she had ever had any famous beg friends, the Smile singer responded, “Yeah, James Corden was a bit of a beg friend for me.
“[He] came on my chat show and was very flirtatious with me. We sort of made friends, and I introduced him to a group of my friends. I’d say if I’ve ever had a famous beggy friend, it was James Corden back in the day.
“He’s not begging me anymore. I’m not begging him, either… I can’t do anything for him now. He’s good.”
Lily Allen has reflected on her friendship with James Corden, describing the talk show host as a “beg friend” who was “very flirtatious” with her
Image credits: Ammar Rowaid/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
The mother-of-two went on to explain her definition of “beg friend.”
“You know when someone contacts you, and then you don’t respond to that thing, and then a couple of days later, they’ll send you a message? Like, ‘Just following up on this.’ It’s like, I know. That’s why I ignored you, and when you keep following up, that’s the begging.
“It’s kind of a latching on, jumping onto s**t. You can smell it a mile off.”
James admitted he had a romantic interest in Lily in his 2011 memoir, May I Have Your Attention Please?
He wrote, “Given where I was at the time, with my ego starting to spiral out of control, a broken heart trying to nurse itself with empty one-night stands and a complete lack of understanding of my position in the world, this was right up my street. I made it my aim to make Lily mine.”
After he was featured as a guest on Lily Allen and Friends, the two “went out four or five times in total after that – and not once was it a proper date,” he described. “It always seemed to involve other people and not just the two of us.”
The two met in 2008 when the Smile singer was hosting her own BBC show, Lily Allen and Friends
The Gavin & Stacey actor revealed that “reality dawned” on him when he was hanging out with Lily at her home with some of her friends. When the songwriter said she was going to bed, James accompanied her upstairs, where she showed him into the guest bedroom and said goodnight.
“Never have I felt such a douchebag. Who was I trying to kid? I remember lying in bed and realizing how badly I’d misread the signs. There was no Lily and me; it was all in my mind.”
Referring to the Cats actor’s behavior on her show, Lily wrote in 2017 that he “came on to [her] in front of a studio audience,” and “if [she] had shut him down, [she] would have been labeled cold or up [herself] or snobbish.”
“[He] came on my chat show and was very flirtatious with me. We sort of made friends, and I introduced him to a group of my friends,” Lily recalled on her podcast, Miss Me?
Though he is best known in the US for hosting the Late Late Show, which aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023 and featured popular segments like Carpool Karaoke and Drop the Mic, James rose to fame in the UK in the sitcom Gavin and Stacey.
The 45-year-old has hosted both the Grammys and Tony Awards twice and presented the sports-based panel show A League of Their Own on Sky One.
With varying degrees of success, he has ventured into film, appearing in movies such as Peter Rabbit, Into the Woods, Cats, and The Prom.
In 2015, James was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honors for services to drama.
During the 2008 interview, James repeatedly told Lily how “lovely” she was
The comedian has been the subject of criticism on several occasions, with accusations that his cheerful TV persona doesn’t match his off-camera behavior.
Craig Duncan, who directed a skit for A League of Their Own in 2013, said James was “the most difficult and obnoxious presenter” he’d ever worked with.
“Well, if you have had a big celeb yell at you—it impacts you for a long time. This video is me standing up to it and citing James as an example of the bad behavior that the industry ignores all the time,” Craig revealed on his YouTube channel in 2023. The incident took place after James was displeased with Craig’s lens work.
“What the f***k is going on here?” James allegedly asked the director and other set members during filming for the show’s seventh season. “You put a camera there, you put a camera there. It’s so obvious how you shoot it. You’re stupid.”
“If I had shut him down, I would have been labeled cold or up myself, or snobbish,” Lily posted on X in 2017
No, I️ wasn’t horny for James cordon either, he came on to me in front of a studio audience, if I’d have shut him down, I️ would have been labeled cold or up myself or snobbish. https://t.co/oWVrtwrLOE
— Lily Allen (@lilyallen) November 23, 2017
In October 2022, the star was temporarily banned from famed Manhattan restaurant Balthazar by owner Keith McNally, who described the late-night host as his “most abusive customer since the restaurant opened 25 years ago” and a “tiny cretin of a man.”
The London-born comedian had allegedly berated the staff on two separate occasions.
McNally claimed that on the first occasion, he was upset that a hair had been found in his food and demanded free drinks to make up for it.
The second occasion involved his wife, Julia Carey, ordering an egg yolk omelet and receiving a plate with egg white on it. Then, he allegedly erupted in fury when the remade dish came with a side of French fries instead of a salad.
After dismissing people’s reaction to the incident as “silly,” James apologized for his behavior, admitting he had made a “rude comment” but denying that he shouted, screamed, or used “derogatory names.” (McNally then described his apology as “contrived and phony,” and he wrote that the star “will say anything to save his bacon.”)
The former Late Late Show host has been embroiled in controversy multiple times recently, including a temporary ban from a restaurant for allegedly berating staff members
In November 2022, a month after the Balthazar scandal, the Kill Your Friends actor was accused of stealing a joke from Ricky Gervais for one of his Late Late Show opening monologues.
At the time, Ricky posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) a clip from James’ show in which he repeated the joke from his Netflix stand-up special, Ricky Gervais: Humanity.
James claimed it was an “inadvertent” mistake” and called the After Life actor the next day to apologize. Ricky then reposted the message, suggesting the two had put the issue behind them.
The 45-year-old is set to star as a voice actor in the upcoming Smurfs Movie. He is currently playing Alec, an ex-serviceman who served in Afghanistan, in the Joe Penhall play The Constituent.
People had mixed reactions to Lily’s negative comments about her past relationship with James
