James Corden doesn’t drive during ‘Carpool Karaoke’
Justin Bieber and James Corden are pictured being towed during a filming of “Carpool Karaoke.” Photo from Twitter user @Zolihonig
By Emma Ralls
A & E Editor
While it’s a given that not everything you see on TV is 100% true, the fact that late night host James Corden might not actually drive the car during his show’s segment “Carpool Karaoke” came as a shock to fans.
The internet exploded when photos were uploaded to Twitter this week showing Corden’s black range rover being towed on a rig while filming for his upcoming show with Justin Bieber.
The twitter user @Zolihonig, who posted the tweet, wrote, “Saw James Corden and Justin Bieber filming carpool karaoke and this is why I have trust issues — he isn’t even driving!”
The tweet includes a video of Corden and Bieber, stopped at a red light in the car before being towed away by he truck in front of them. The video amassed 11 million views by the night of the 23rd, just a day after its initial posting. To some fans, this was a given, maybe a relief in some cases. Some even sang Corden praises for looking out for the safety of his cast and crew.
User @ishouldbesmokin wrote, “Who thought James drove that car the entire time he is talking and singing? I have seen James eyes on the road 30% of the times that he is driving. I wondered how he didn’t crash. I actually feel better now.”
Another user, @tod- dwurdd, tweeted “Y’all thought James Corden was driving but don’t remember when Stevie Wonder drove that?” and included a photo of the blind singer behind the wheel “driving.”
Other people were borderline offended that they had been tricked by the late night host and the show as a whole. “All along I used to respect James Corden for being able to concentrate on driving and singing at the same time: but now I feel betrayed. So even the Amigos, Mariah Carey, Michelle Obama and the rest was just a lie,” user @mrdavison1 tweeted.
Another user also tweeted, “[I always wondered] how safe it is. How come the police didn’t pull them over? I thought they had police cars to guard them in front and back on some un- busy street to do the shoot. I never thought that they pulled the car.”
Major news sources like Fox News, ABC NEWS 9, Today, Daily Mail and many other websites have
covered the story, each displaying headlines like “’Carpool Karaoke’: Does James Corden actually drive?” or “James Corden Stuns Fans. This leads readers and the public to believe that Corden has in fact not been driving the whole time.
Some people have jumped in to defend the legitimacy of Corden’s driving. Some people said they’ve seen him driving with other people, like Maroon 5 while recording the show.
But it turns out that while there is some truth to the fact he does not drive all the time, the people’s belief that Corden drives has not been completely wrong.
Ben Winston, executive producer of the “Late Late Show” tweeted a response to a Buzzfeed article when he said, “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!”
He followed up with another tweet explaining what he meant as stunts, stating “By stunt I mean – dance routines / costumes / props etc.! Don’t worry too much though. I’m pretty sure there are bigger issues to worry about!”
At the end of the day Winston is right, the world does have more things to worry about than if a British man is really driving A-list celebrities around or not. The “Late Late Show” took all of the attention in stride, even tweeting out a picture of Corden and Samuel L. Jackson with wigs on in front of a green screen with a prop steering wheel. No matter if Corden is driving or if he isn’t, it shouldn’t take away from the hilarity that is carpool karaoke.