James Corden recapped the biggest pop culture and political news of the summer on Thursday’s episode of The Late Late Show.
“New York blacked out, California’s earthquake, the record heat was a lot to take,” he began. “Sophie Turner and Joe got married at last. Must have lost my invite, I heard it was a blast.”
The host also touched on Donald Trump’s “spat” with Megan Rapinoe, Brad Pitt’s role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the protest against Equinox after Stephen Ross, whose Related Cos. owns the fitness company, threw a fundraiser for Trump. “Come on 2019, don’t be such a bummer. Just let me have my hot girl summer,” he said.
The segment continued with pop culture news, including that Avengers: Endgame beat Avatar onscreen, Beyonce starred in the live-action The Lion King and Spider-Man: Far From Home came out.
Corden next touched on the Cats trailer, which was met with mixed reviews. “The Cats trailer debuted and left emotional scars, but you can’t deny the charm of one of its stars,” he said as a photo of him in the film appeared onscreen.
“Trump threw a party on the Fourth of July, spent five million dollars and no one knows why. Threatened tariffs on China for iPhones and toys, no presents this year for his two naughty boys. Bob Mueller testified and didn’t say much, and Trump went to visit his dictator crush,” he said as a photo of Trump and Kim Jong-un appeared onscreen. “If you think Donald likes to spread hatred and fear, wait until Boris Johnson says, ‘Hey, hold my beer.'”
The host next said that the scariest thing about the third season of Stranger Things was the characters going through puberty, while Big Little Lies welcomed new star Meryl Streep. “The Bachelorette felt betrayed, racists got mad at The Little Mermaid. Veronica Mars kept us guessing. Chernobyl was just too depressing,” he said. “Euphoria actors showed off their junk. Game of Thrones aired its final show, so now can we finally get rid of HBO Go?”
The Democratic presidential debates were also touched on during the segment. “Put me to sleep not once, but twice,” he said. “Kamala Harris challenged Biden on race, though he still back massaged his way to first place. Elizabeth Warren laid out her plans, while Bernie continued to throw up his hands. Buttigieg is in it still, Cory’s got some skill. Beto’s chances don’t look super, who the hell was Hickenlooper?”
He added, “No matter who wins the Dem nomination, can we please just pass gun-control legislation?”
Other highlights that Corden mentioned during the segment included the 50th anniversaries of the moon landing and the Stonewall riots, the “shifty” Woodstock anniversary concert being canceled, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ song “Old Town Road” dominating the charts and Taylor Swift and Katy Perry ending their feud.
“Shawn and Camila finally started dating. It’s about time, we were all sick of waiting,” he concluded as a photo appeared of Mendes and Cabello on The Late Late Show.
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Watch the full recap below.
