James Corden shuts down Bill Maher for controversial 'fat shaming' comments

Nick Paschal
·Supervising Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

James Corden took a few minutes during The Late Late Show Thursday night to address Bill Maher's recent comments on fat shaming. Maher used the last few minutes of a recent episode of Real Time to rant about the obesity epidemic in America. The HBO host said, "We have gone to a place where fat is good. It's pointing out that fat is unhealthy, that’s what's bad. Fat shaming doesn't need to end. It needs to make a comeback."

This was not the first time Maher has made controversial comments on obesity. In 2017 he said, "I'm sorry, but pretending everyone is beautiful at any size is not helping [the obese], it's enabling them." Corden felt that, as an overweight person who has a platform, it was his responsibility to call out Maher for his insensitive comments. "We're using this term 'fat shaming.' We have come up with a name for it. Let's be honest, fat shaming is just bullying. That is what is. It's bullying," said Corden, adding, "And bullying only makes the problem worse."

People obviously took to Twitter following Maher's comments to condemn the HBO host.

On Thursday night, Twitter lit up again with people praising Corden for speaking out.

In the end, Corden said that Maher made some good points and that we need to take health care more seriously in this country, but that we also need to be more thoughtful of how we treat each other. Corden said, "Bill, please hear me when I say this, while you are encouraging people to think about what goes into their mouths, just think a little harder about what comes out of yours."

The Late Late Show With James Corden airs weeknights at 12:35 a.m. on CBS.

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