James Corden announces in a recent interview with Howard Stern that The Late Late Show will revise the format for “Spill Your Guts” after being called out for its insensitive use of dishes from Asian cultures.
In the segment “Spill Your Guts,” celebrity guests must either answer difficult questions or consume “disgusting” foods. In an episode with Jimmy Kimmel that first aired in 2016, balut (boiled fertilized egg dish), pídàn (thousand-year-old egg) and xuě dòufǔ (pig blood tofu) were used as his food punishments. All of these foods are considered delicacies in different Asian cultures. Many of these dishes have been used regularly throughout the years in the Corden game, including cod sperm, which is eaten regularly in Japanese cuisine.
“Wow, it all looks so terrible,” guest Jimmy Kimmel remarks in the segment. “It’s really disgusting. It’s horrific,” Corden replies.
TikTok user Kim Saira made a video discussing the culturally insensitively segment, and created a Change.org petition to push Corden to either change the foods used in the segment, or to remove the segment from the show entirely. The original TikTok has amassed over 2 million views on the platform, and the petition has received 45,000 signatures.
“In the wake of the constant Asian hate crimes that have continuously been occurring, not only is this segment incredibly culturally offensive and insensitive, but it also encourages anti-Asian racism,” Saira writes in the petition description. “So many Asian Americans are consistently bullied and mocked for their native foods, and this segment amplifies and encourages it.”
Corden apologized for the segment and told Stern that the show is changing course for “Spill Your Guts,” and the foods used from now on will focus on a “fattening, diet-destroying” angle, like the ones presented to Anna Wintour.
“We heard that story, and the next time we do that bit we absolutely won’t involve or use any of those foods,” Corden said. “As you said at the start, our show is a show about joy and light and love, we don’t want to make a show to upset anybody.”