Last Night on Late Night

James Corden Half-Apologizes for Kissing Sean Spicer. Is It Enough?

“I need to learn how to shake hands.”

Sunday night’s Sean Spicer gag at the Emmys may have caused a few CBS hosts more trouble than it was worth. The bit, in which the former press secretary wheeled out on a lectern to comment on the gala’s crowd size, was reportedly Stephen Colbert’s idea. It sent a wave of shock and laughter through the room—but met serious backlash online, where critics and comedians alike accused the Emmys of normalizing the recent veteran of the Trump administration. Afterward, Spicer found no shortage of admirers on the party circuit—or at least, there were plenty of people crowding around him to take selfies.

One of those people? Late Late Show host James Corden, who gave Spicer a peck on the cheek in a photo that quickly went viral. It was that photo—and all of the anger surrounding it—that prompted Corden to issue an apology Monday night on The Late Late Show. But Corden’s speech struck an odd tone, mixing sincerity with punch lines to confusing effect. Will it be enough to appease his critics?

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Evidently, Corden and his team have learned a lesson from Jimmy Fallon, who took months to address his infamous Donald Trump hair ruffle—and paid the price for that act of normalization in ratings. Corden, by contrast, opened The Late Late Show Monday night with a few quick jokes about the president before pivoting to his main topic: the Emmys and that kiss.

“The big winners last night were Donald Glover, Hulu, and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer,” Corden said, to a smattering of laughter. “Spicer won best actor in a comedy for his role in Donald Trump’s administration. I’m kidding, of course, but 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. And I just want to say, I think people are forgetting that this man lied to the American people and should not be embraced. These Hollywood phonies kissing up to Sean Spicer are disgusting. I mean, who did this? Who are we talking about here?”

Cue the photo and a “did I do that?” face that even Steve Urkel would admire.

Here, though, is where things got a bit messy. Corden seemed unable to decide how to address the photo. He started with a joke: “Now, I know you think that’s a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer, but in the spirit of Sean Spicer, no it isn’t.”

Then he jokingly suggested he wasn’t totally in his right mind at the time: “Anyone ever have that feeling when you get a little drunk and then wake up the next morning and think, ‘Oh God, who did I kiss last night?’ It’s a bit like that. To be fair, everyone was kissing ass last night at the Emmys; I just happened to kiss the biggest one there.”

Then he went for sincerity—sort of. “Understandably, some people have been disappointed by this photo. In truth, I’m disappointed by it as well. I’ve been reading a lot of harsh comments on Twitter today and I hear you loud and clear; truly I do. So much so that I’m starting to regret that “Carpool Karaoke” that we’ve taped with Steve Bannon. Feels like a mistake today.”

And then? Even more jokes to emphasize that Corden actually kisses a lot of people, so this one isn’t really a big deal. “I can promise you this: that kiss was a one-time thing. I’m not one of these people who has a couple of drinks and goes around kissing people that I don’t know. Except for that one time with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Corden went on to display photos of himself kissing several more celebrities—but none of them were former politicians, much less disgraced former members of the Trump administration. As a result, this probably won’t do much to reassure Corden’s critics that he truly understands what they’re angry about.

It’s unclear so far whether the Internet’s ire will make a material difference for Corden in the long run; we’ll get the first indication when ratings come out for Monday’s broadcast, though any fallout may take longer to actually materialize. Still, it wouldn’t hurt for Corden to make good on his final joke: “Basically what I’m saying is, I need to learn how to shake hands.”