James Corden fires back at Lily Allen after she calls him a 'beg friend' as they reignite feud
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: James Corden has shrugged off Lily Allen's biting "beg friend" remarks, calling her 'Miss Me?' podcast comments "tacky," according to sources.
The former late-night host, now back in the UK after nearly a decade in the United States, was labeled so by Allen, who recalled their first meeting in 2008.
This comes amidst ongoing accusations against Corden, 45, of bad manners, rude backstage behavior, and a phony "good guy" public persona.
Insider compares James Corden to Ellen DeGeneres
Lily Allen, 39, shared the comment while hosting her podcast with childhood best friend and co-star, Miquita Oliver.
An insider exclusively told Daily Mail that the 'Gavin & Stacey' star thinks Allen was "a bit of a t**t to have said anything at all."
"James gets a bunch of heat on how he treats people over and over again and is a very polarizing person," the insider said. "He is a bit like Ellen DeGeneres nowadays, you either like him or you don't, nothing in between."
"So, when Lily recently talked s**t about him, to James it was just another day in his life, just another hater."
The insider continued, "He thought for Lily to bring up their past was tacky and that she was a bit of a t**t to have said anything at all."
"He believes he has never been desperate and deserves better and is pretty much over people talking about him in a negative way. But the only way that will change is when he starts to change."
"James doesn't get why he upsets so many people because he is just being himself," he insider added. "But being himself is a little delusional and actually the problem is he is always about himself and if you don't befriend him, or side with him, he makes you feel that it is your fault."
The insider also noted that the TV star needs to take time to reflect if he wants to avoid future feuds.
"It is a respect thing, and it is a two-way street that James doesn't always adhere to, so this will continue to happen until he changes his own attitude and approach," they said.
Lily Allen recalls James Corden being 'very flirtatious' back in 2008
The 'Smile' singer recounted Corden being "very flirtatious" with her on her chat show in 2008. She explained that their time together after the show was brief and somewhat "hazy," lasting only for a short while.
She described Corden as someone who "begs" for attention in hopes of forming a friendship.
"Yeah, James Corden was a bit of a beg friend for me," she stated. "James Corden came on my chat show and was like very flirtatious with me and we sort of made friends and I introduced him to a group of my friends."
She continued, "I believe he wrote about it in his book, suggesting I was leading him on or something – which I definitely wasn't. Maybe in his mind, it went on a bit longer."
She added with a hint of nostalgia, "If I ever had a famous 'beggy' friend, it was James Corden back in the day."
Allen concluded, "He's not begging me anymore, and I'm not begging him either. I can't do anything for him now; he's good."
Lily Allen is currently married to actor David Harbour.
The couple began dating in 2019 after meeting on the celebrity dating app Raya and married in September 2020 in Las Vegas.
They share a home in New York City, where they live with Allen's two daughters from her previous marriage to Sam Cooper.
James Corden called himself a 'douchebag' in his memoir
In his 2011 memoir, 'May I Have Your Attention, Please?' James Corden shared his reflections on his interactions with Lily Allen at the premiere of 'The History Boys' in 2006.
He wrote, "She's confident, funny, and intelligent. I guess I went out with Lily four or five times in total – and not once was it a proper date. It always seemed to involve other people and not just the two of us."
Corden described a moment of clarity that hit him while hanging out with Lily and her friends at her home.
When Lily announced she was going to bed, Corden accompanied her upstairs, only to be shown into the guest bedroom with a simple "goodnight."
"Never have I felt such a douchebag," he wrote. "Who was I trying to kid? I remember lying in bed and realizing how badly I'd misread the signs. There was no me and Lily; it was all in my mind."
Corden's spat with Allen is the latest in a series of allegations about his diva-like behavior in recent years.
Last year, he was dramatically barred from Balthazar, a renowned New York restaurant, after its owner, Keith McNally, accused the controversial TV host of being "extremely nasty" to staff on two separate occasions.
Although Corden initially dismissed the drama as "silly," he later issued an apology, conveying, "I made a rude comment, and it was wrong," he admitted. "It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server."
James Corden is in a relationship with Julia Carey, whom he married in 2012. They got engaged in 2010 and have three children together: Max, Carey, and Charlotte.
