The Late Late Show host gave a monologue on Monday, referring to Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and said in a line-up that viewers noticed was strikingly similar to one from Gervais’ 2018 standup show Humanity. Gervais drew attention to the similarities in a now-deleted Twitter post. In the joke, Corden says, “When you see Elon Musk talking about Twitter, he does this thing where he goes, ‘Well, it’s the town square.’ “But it is not. Because if someone puts up a sign in a town square that says ‘guitar lessons available’, you’re not causing people in town to go, ‘I don’t want to play guitar! I want to play the piano, dammit!’ “Well, that mark wasn’t for you, it was for someone else. You don’t need to be angry about all this!’ Responding to the accusations, Corden tweeted from The Late Late Show account: “Inadvertently told a brilliant Ricky Gervais joke on the show last night, apparently not knowing it came from him. “It’s great, because it’s a Ricky Gervais joke. You can watch all of Ricky’s great deals on Netflix. J x”. He accidentally told a brilliant Ricky Gervais joke on the show last night, apparently not knowing it came from him. It’s great, because it’s a Ricky Gervais joke. You can watch all of Ricky’s great deals on Netflix. Jx — The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) November 1, 2022 Gervais defended his fellow comedian earlier in the day after a Twitter user asked if Corden had asked permission to use the joke. He replied: “No. I think one of the writers “thought it up” for him. “I doubt he would knowingly copy such a famous stand up routine word for word like that.” In April, Corden said he would step down as host of The Late Late Show. The actor and comedian recently made headlines after he was banned from New York restaurant Balthazar for allegedly misbehaving. The restaurant’s owner, Keith McNally, claimed he was “extremely nasty” to his staff on two separate occasions. Corden later addressed the incident during an episode of The Late Late Show and said it was “never my intention” to upset the staff, but acknowledged he was “ungrateful” during the incident. McNally has since overturned the ban.
