People are asking James Corden and “The Late Late Show” to remove the “Spill Your Guts” segment, claiming that it perpetuates anti-Asian racism amid a rise of violence toward AAPI communities.
Host James Corden invites celebrity guests to participate in the segment in which he gives them the option to either answer personal questions or take a bite from an assortment of what is displayed as “gross” foods.
Call for removal: An online petition to remove the segment says the show has featured common foods in Asian cuisines including “balut, century old eggs, and chicken feet” and portrays them as “disgusting” and “horrifying.”
- The petition claims that the segment “encourages anti-Asian racism” and notes the show’s high levels of viewership to indicate how much influence the segment has.
- “We are holding James Corden and The Late Late Show accountable for their actions, and perpetual harm this segment causes to Asian American communities,” the petition reads. “At the very least, Asian American communities deserve an apology and this segment to be taken off the air.”
- Requests include: 1) a change in the foods that are presented or removal of the segment, 2) an apology from Corden that would include his steps to “do better in the future” and 3) donations to local Asian American organizations that help Asian-owned restaurants or small businesses.
Influencer and artist Kim Saira started the petition after her video on the segment went viral on social media.
- Saira, who is of Filipino and Chinese descent, told NextShark she felt “confused” and “embarrassed” after seeing the segment for the first — and last — time. One of the foods presented on the show, balut, was something she found sentimental.
- “I hope that taking this segment down signifies that our cultures’ foods will not be the butt ends of jokes anymore,” Saira explained. “Our foods are incredibly interconnected with our cultures.”
- She felt that the segment perpetuates discrimination, noting the way that “bats and wet markets” in China were blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an increase in anti-Asian violence and racism.
- She hopes that the petition will show that Asian Americans have “had enough” and that “we are loud, not a model minority, and that we do speak up about issues (even in the media) that don’t sit right to us.”
- Saira shut down users demanding to “cancel” Corden, advocating instead for accountability as she noted in a follow-up video that Corden has previously stood up for “oppressed communities” and is “capable of making things right.”
Past criticism: Since its start on June 8, the petition gathered over 26,000 signatures as of this writing. However, this isn’t the first time the show’s portrayal of Asian foods received backlash.
- In an article titled, “Why James Corden’s ‘Spill Your Guts’ Is Problematic,” the author claims that the segment “[ridicules] these other cultures as being weird for not abiding by Western traditions.”
- In another article from 2018, one person talks about the “exotification of foods” in the segment and criticizes it for having been approached from “a place of ignorance.”
- “With the decision to showcase these cultural foods as disgusting, it is clear that the show is catering to an audience whose tastes are shaped by narrow-minded, Western-centric values,” it goes on to say. “These foods have rich histories embedded within them and aren’t being eaten in the way that allows them to be appreciated.”
NextShark reached out to CBS, which did not immediately respond for further comment.
Featured Image via The Late Late Show with James Corden
