James Corden on Carpool Karaoke scandal: Is it worse than Cats?

James Corden has finally spoken out about those Carpool Karaoke hoax accusations.

In a monologue on The Late Late Show, the host clapped back at his haters for the first time.

“I’ve recently been a victim of a scandal in the media,” he said, sounding genuinely distressed.

“I want to get ahead of everything and assure you that these accusations are not true,” Corden continued. “I am talking about the people saying that I don’t drive the car during Carpool Karaoke. Now I really hate that I’m about to say this, but fake news.”

It all started on January 22 when a viral tweet alleged that the talk show host didn’t actually drive the car during the show’s popular musical segment, which features Corden and famous musical guests singing along to their songs in a car.

“Saw James Corden and Justin Bieber filming carpool karaoke and this is why I have trust issues – he isn’t even driving!” a fan observed on Twitter, accompanied by a video with more than 13 million views.
 

Late Late Show executive producer Ben Winston later took to Twitter to defend Corden and Carpool Karaoke, saying, “Not true! We only use a rig when we are doing a ‘stunt’ as part of the Carpool – when it would be impossible for James to drive! This has occurred only maybe 4 times in 50 or so carpools … Safety is key!”

Corden took to the mic on his show to clarify that he always drives the car unless they’re doing something that might not be safe. “Ninety-five per cent of the time, I really am endangering the lives of the world’s biggest pop stars,” he said. “It’s TV, and sometimes we do stuff just for the sake of entertainment!”

For “transparency,” he provided a list of every Carpool Karaoke where he’s used a tow, which included Meghan Trainor, Migos, Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, and Justin Bieber on Bieber’s third time on the show.

“Look, I’m just shocked that I’ve done something that’s upset people more than Cats,” Corden joked.
 

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission