James Corden responded to the YouTube pranksters who have been fooling stars into appearing on fake versions of late night shows like The Late Late Show.
The host opened the segment by explaining that YouTube creators Josh Pieters and Archie Manners fooled TikTok star Holly H. into believing that she was appearing on his CBS show. “Seems like a lovely interview. Unfortunately I wasn’t actually there for it,” Corden said after airing a clip of the chat.
Corden explained that Pieters and Manners “have been pretending to work for CBS and they’ve been booking guests for The Late Late Show and tricking them and interviewing them by using a soundboard full of snippets of me talking.”
A clip from the YouTube creators showed their process, which includes compiling audio clips of late night hosts. They explained that they never reveal their faces during the pranks and rely on the audio to trick stars into thinking that they are appearing on late night shows.
Corden said that many people failed to catch on to the scheme. “Surely a host as dynamic and introspective and, let’s be honest, as insightful as James Corden cannot be simply replicated with just a few quick sound bites,” he said. The host then compared his laugh to the sound bite used in the prank, noting that they sound different.
Corden criticized the guests for not realizing that the producer of the fake show is “extremely British,” while the show is filmed in the United States. After watching a clip of the fake producer, Corden said that the impression sounded “nothing like our actual producer.” Despite Corden’s claims, a following clip revealed that executive producer Ben Winston does speak with a British accent.
In addition to Holly H., Pieters and Manners convinced professional boxer Tommy Fury and musician Craig David that they were appearing on The Late Late Show.
Pieters and Manners were also behind the fake interview that Tiger King‘s Carole Baskin thought she was giving to The Tonight Show.
“Every show was trying to get Carole Baskin to do an interview. We couldn’t get her and these guys were able to get her,” said Corden.
The host also questioned how the pranksters were able to convince the guests to that they were the hosts throughout the interviews. “I can’t help getting the overwhelming feeling that frankly I’m not as important to this job as I maybe thought I was,” he said.
Corden concluded the segment by addressing the Pieters and Manners. “I will not be replaced with sound bites,” he said. “In fact, I’m going to walk off right now to just prove how important I am to this show and you cannot do it without me.”
An edited compilation of clips followed that showed Corden stating that the show would be back after a commercial break.
