Comedian James Corden has laughed off criticism that came his way taking a photo where he jokingly kissed former White House press secretary Sean Spicer at the 2017 Emmy Awards.
Spicer made a surprise appearance following host Stephen Colbert's politically-charged monologue at the awards show on September 17. After the photograph featuring Corden and Spicer emerged, Twitter critics accused the former of "normalising facism", reported people.com.
Corden addressed the criticism on Monday's episode of "The Late Late Show" with humour.
"The big winners last night were Donald Glover, Hulu and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer," Corden said in his opening monologue. "Spicer won best actor in a comedy for his role in Donald Trump's administration."
He continued: "I'm kidding, of course. But Sean Spicer actually did make a cameo at last night's ceremony. According to some reports, at the after-party, Spicer was the post popular guy in the room.
"And I just want to say, I think people are forgetting that this man lied to the American people, and should not be embraced. These Hollywood phonies kissing up to Sean Spicer are disgusting. I mean, who did this? Who are we talking about here?!"
Then, a photo of Corden kissing Spicer popped up on the screen behind him.
"Yeah, I know you think that is a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer. But in the spirit of Sean Spicer - no, it isn't!"
Corden then said it was a moment of getting drunk and forgetting who he kissed the previous night.
"To be fair, everyone was kissing ass last night at the Emmys," he added. "I just happened to kiss the biggest one there."
Changing his tone, Corden them claimed to understand why "some people have been disappointed by this photo" and revealed that "in truth, I'm disappointed by it as well.
"I am, I have been reading a lot of harsh comments on Twitter today, and I hear you loud and clear," he added. "Truly, I do."
--IANS
rb/mr
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