James Corden responds after being called out as fake carpool karaoke driver

When you’re a late-night talk show host who has been exposed as faking the logistics on a legendary segment of your show, you have two ways to respond: with apologies or complete self-mockery. James Corden chose the latter path on the Jan. 29 episode of The Late Late Show when he addressed the accusation that “Carpool Karaoke” is fake because the host doesn’t always actually drive.“I’m sure many of you have heard I've recently been the victim of a scandal in the media, and there's been some very serious, serious allegations made against me. And I want to get ahead of everything and address those rumours and assure you, my audience, that these accusations are not true,” Corden said at the top of the show. “I am, of course, talking about the people saying that I don't drive the car during Carpool Karaoke. Now, I really hate that I'm about to say this, but… fake news.”

guys, we don't even use a real car pic.twitter.com/O0sxMwNFtP

— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) January 23, 2020

Corden then went on to share the video that shook the internet, in which a passerby filmed the host and his guest, Justin Bieber, as they were pulled along by a rig in the middle of the street while taping a Carpool segment.[video_embed id='1887315']RELATED: BTS playing hide-and-seek on James Corden is the cutest thing you’ll see today[/video_embed]Corden stared at the camera for a second before continuing, “I know this looks bad. But I just want to say right now that I always drive the car unless we’re doing something where we think it might not be safe. Like a dance routine, or a costume change, or if I’m drunk. But in the case of Justin Bieber, it was a safety issue where we thought it was best to tow the car. Frankly, I just kept getting lost in his eyes.”The host also pointed out that the video has more than 13 million views—which is more than some of his actual Carpool Karaoke segments—and that the media had a field day with the story by using terms like “dream-shattering” or “the worst lie since Santa.” He also called out some of the Tweets posted since the video came out, which included statements like, “This is why I don’t trust men.”

.@JKCorden finally comes clean about #CarpoolKaraoke pic.twitter.com/hOLOPcJO2E

— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) January 30, 2020

“Look, I’m just shocked that I’ve done something that upset people more than Cats,” Corden added. “People are furious… But I swear to you, 95 per cent of the time I really am endangering the lives of the world’s biggest pop stars. But this is a TV show, not everything is real. Our show doesn’t tape after midnight, we tape at 5 p.m. and pretend that it’s late. Reggie Watts isn’t actually here, he’s 100 per cent CGI. And I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news but while we’re getting things out in the open, I don’t actually need them to help me get to work. I’m at work already! We've also never once, in the history of doing that bit, ever used the carpool lane! There's not even a carpool lane on my way to work, and I just thought that we all knew this!”Well it’s probably safe to say that everyone knows now.The Late Late Show with James Corden airs weekdays at 12:37 a.m. ET on CTV.[video_embed id='1886566']BEFORE YOU GO: Justin Bieber's look-alike is forging his own path[/video_embed]