James Corden Called Out By Director For Being Rude On Set

“The most difficult and obnoxious presenter I have ever worked with was James Corden. I was asked by his production company if I’d be willing to direct a challenge that was gonna be part of their A League of Their Own show. It was Season 7, Episode 3, and I’ll never forget it.”

“[James’s production company] said, ‘How are you at working with difficult presenters?’ I said, ‘Oh, right, OK. Well, I’ve filmed the Three Tenors before, and you can’t get more of a prima donna than an opera singer.’”

So the producers told Craig to come to A League of Their Own rehearsals to see James in action to “see if this is for you.” Craig agreed.

“It came to a point where he had to read from a card. There was kind of a joke in there, and he just looked at it like, ‘That’s not funny. That’s not funny. That’s shit. We have to rewrite that. We have to rewrite this.’”

Craig said, “Maybe he was having a bad day…but I kept thinking of the person who was writing the joke, the fact that they’re doing the best they can.”

Craig said the production team was pressed for time to build a Master Chef–like set for a segment. They wound up finishing at the last minute, but the filming of the segment wasn’t exactly a walk in the park because James was only available for a few minutes before he had to leave. So they had to brainstorm how to get the shot quickly. “We were working it out when old bugger-lugs pipes up,” Craig said.

“[James said], ‘What the fuck is going on here? It’s obvious what you do. You put a camera there. You put a camera there. You put a camera there. You put a camera there,'” Craig recalled. “It’s so obvious how you shoot it, you’re stupid.’ And I’m like, ‘He’s absolutely right, guys, let’s do that, that’s the best thing to do.'” They wound up shooting it that way.

But the real kicker: “[James] was late 45 minutes from his schedule. I would’ve had him done in six. So, cheers, James. I hope I never, ever work with you again.”

James has not responded to Craig’s video, but we’ll update you if he does.