James Corden Accuses Fellow US Chat Show Host Bill Maher Of ‘Bullying’ Over Fat Shaming Comments

"We don”t all have a sense of superiority that burns 35,000 calories a day”.
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James Corden has blasted a fellow US chat show host who called for fat-shaming to “make a comeback”.

Speaking on his Real Talk programme, Bill Maher criticised efforts to de-stigmatise being overweight and said “we have gone to this weird place where fat is good”.

Bill Maher
Bill Maher
Vivien Killilea via Getty Images

The prominent US TV personality said being fat “isn’t a birth defect, no-one comes out of the womb needing two seats on the airplane”.

“Fat-shaming doesn’t need to end, it needs to make a comeback”, he said.

“Some amount of shame is good”.

But during the opening monologue on The Late Late Show With James Corden, the Gavin And Stacey star said Maher was encouraging bullying.

“If making fun of fat people made them lose weight, there’d be no fat kids in schools.” — @JKCorden responds to @billmaher's call for the return of fat shaming. pic.twitter.com/asXmlNEx4L

— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) September 13, 2019

James, who said he has struggled with his weight all his life, argued fat-shaming “hasn’t gone anywhere” and that “we are reminded of it all the time”.

Discussing his own efforts to keep the pounds off, James said “we’re not all as lucky as Bill Maher, we don”t all have a sense of superiority that burns 35,000 calories a day”.

James Corden
James Corden
Leon Bennett via Getty Images

The 41-year-old added: “It’s proven that fat-shaming only does one thing – it makes people feel ashamed. And shame leads to depression, anxiety and self-destructive behaviour. Self-destructive behaviour like over-eating.

“Fat-shaming is just bullying and bullying only makes the problem worse.”

His response went down well with many people on Twitter…

I love @JKCorden’s response to @billmaher on every level.
It’s calm, composed, fun, insightful, wise, personal, and correct. Bravo, James, for not only being funny, but factual and speaking on behalf of everyone who has struggled or still struggles with their weight. https://t.co/H7ik2dRlcD

— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) September 13, 2019

Not the biggest fan of James Corden but just watched his response to Bill Maher who called for a return of fat shaming. And Corden was brilliant. Why is it acceptable to Bully someone based purely on their weight?

— aj (@1986_legend) September 13, 2019

James Corden 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

As someone who has struggled their entire life with body image, who has a family member that contributes to the fat shaming culture leading me into developing an ed for 5 long years of my life - this hits home so hard.

Fat shaming = bullying. That’s not ok https://t.co/FHC4ifRlS9

— Melissa 🍁 (@bellsxprincess) September 13, 2019

That’s why there are so many folks with screwed up body images and eating disorders. Corden is right. Fat shaming is bullying. Even if someone manages to go through a weight loss transformation, what leads up to it needs to come from healthy behavior for both the mindset

— Ria (@freetolive603) September 13, 2019

as someone who’s been & continues to be fat shamed, James Corden’s segment about it tonight was so important & honestly brought tears to my eyes. fat shaming has never went away, & it’s definitely not a method of trying to get someone to make a change they’re already aware of

— ✮ 𝓈𝓊𝓂 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓁 ✮ (@cakesunflower) September 13, 2019

James was also supported by British actress Jameel Jamil, who has been open about her own struggles with her weight.

She said his monologue was “brilliant”, adding: “I recommend it to you all.

“I whole heartedly agree with everything he is saying here and I hope @billmaher takes a second to listen, because this is so important.”

Maher is yet to publicly respond.

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