Lily Allen made a surprising and pretty brutal revelation about James Corden as she reflected on their friendship on her podcast.
Both Allen and Corden are hugely successful in their own rights now, with Allen having released dozens of hit songs while Corden has made his way from sitcoms in the UK, to Hollywood movies and chat shows in the US.
Before Corden's career really took off, however, Allen claimed she noticed something about the way he acted around her and her friends.
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She made the revelation on her podcast, Miss Me?, when she was asked by a fan if she'd ever met any 'actually famous' people who she'd consider to be 'beg friends'.
In case you're not familiar with the term, a 'beg friend' refers to someone who's desperate in a friendship or perhaps looking to work them in their favor, for example to connect with others.
Allen explained it as 'kind of a latching on, jumping onto s**t'.
"You can smell it a mile off," she explained. "You know when someone contacts you, and then you don’t respond to that thing, and then a couple days later they’ll send you a message?
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"Like, ‘Just following up on this.’ It’s like, I know. That’s why I ignored you, and when you keep following up, that’s the begging."
Speaking with her co-host, Miquita Oliver, Allen said she'd only hung around with Corden for a short period of time, though she did invite him on to her chat show, Lily Allen and Friends, in 2008.
In response to the fan's question, she explained: "Yeah, James Corden was a bit of a beg friend for me.
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"James came on my chat show and was very flirtatious with me, and we sort of made friends, and I introduced him to a group of my friends."
"I’d say if I’ve ever had a famous beggy friend it was James Corden, back in the day," Allen continued.
However, she made clear that Corden doesn't act that way anymore.
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Since his appearance on Allen's show in 2008, Corden has gone on to feature in movies like Begin Again, Trolls, The Emoji Movie, Cats and Cinderella.
He appeared as the host of The Late Late Show with James Corden from 2015 to 2023, and has also worked as a producer for the Tony Awards.
With that in mind, Allen continued: "He’s not begging me anymore. I’m not begging him either. I can’t do anything for him now. He’s good."
Corden himself has reflected on his relationship with Allen in a memoir written in 2011, when he claimed the singer had asked for his number at a party.
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He then recalled spending time with Allen a couple of years later, writing: "I guess I went out with Lily four or five times in total after that and not once was it a proper date. It always seemed to involve other people and not just the two of us."
Allen has admitted she's not entirely innocent of being a 'beg friend' herself, as she revealed she's been 'beg friending' singer Charli XCX.
UNILAD has contacted representatives for James Corden for comment.
Topics: James Corden, Celebrity, Podcast
Emily Brown