STICKS AND STONES

“He’s too fat”, “He’s up himself”, he “shows off”, he is “a motormouth”, etc. “Sticks and stones make break his bones, but words will never hurt”, James Corben, or will they? On the surface, he takes no notice of complaints even if they hark from his own countrymen; however, in private, this pop culture phenomenon might nurse his wounded pride.

As far as the Brits are concerned, the “fat kid from High Wycombe” who made them chuckle is a guy worth hating simply because he cut down Adele’s acceptance speech at the Brit Awards, had a hand in the atrocious movie “Lesbian Vampire Killers,” got into a spat with British Treasure Sir Patrick Stewart and hangs out with bitch fashion Goddess Anna Wintour.

He knows he is unpopular in the UK. When the Guardian interviewed him and pointed out that he is a successful artist with shows like “One Man, Two Guvnors” and a “League Of Their Own “to his name, people still pan him.

“I’m aware at the back of my mind that below this interview, there will be lots of comments, and people will write on those comments that I’m a fat arrogant wanker, or whatever.”

A LOUD MOUTH

Folks can say what they want, but the truth is James knows his worth and drives a hard bargain. He has pushed for fame and won. In the US, his take is not perceived as on the make and his career has gone from strength to strength. Folks from across the pond love him because he IS a loud mouth, because he is slapstick and because his “Hail Fellow Well Met” attitude mirrors that of “Mr Normal USA” par excellence.

Nobody can say he is not as bright as a button either; after all, he did write the popular comedy “Gavin and Stacey”, along with Welsh actress Ruth Jones, for which he won BAFTA. He also created the hit show “Carpool Karaoke”, driving VIPs around as he gave them a unique chance to sing their hearts out; one of those VIPs just happened to be George Michael but you can add on Adele, Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Jennifer Lopez, etc. etc. to the list. To boot, he has hosted the Tony and Grammy Awards and has appeared in movies such as “Into the Woods”, “Cats”, and “Cinderella”. In short..no matter what peeved critics say, James is a seriously successful Show Biz personality and will continue to keep his eye on that golden ball.

NEVER SAY DIE

Clearly, Corben is used to having rotten tomatoes thrown at him, but sometimes they hit too hard. When GQ Magazine asked whether he felt support from the media when he took over the Late Late Chat Show from Craig Ferguson he said, “You’re joking, aren’t you? The press in America was neutral. We had a level playing field. It was: ‘Who is this guy?’ Which was totally fair.”

However, when it came to the UK, he chimed, “I felt there were only expectations of failure……if we’d made this show for ITV to air at eight o’clock on Saturday night, people would have destroyed it.”

He is right; critics just do not get that he is a “never say die” type of fellow, born under a Leo sun and that Aries moon, an Astro champion, a superstar who forgives and forgets, even if he does throw the odd temper tantrum now and then.

His soul number is four, a number of stability, so notwithstanding his inner restlessness, those super digits keep him stable. He is a clever guy, too, a realist who knows how to sell his charm and will do well as long as he keeps his cool and doesn’t get himself banned from “cream of the crop” New York restaurants like Balthazar.

The owner McNally said, “James Corden is a hugely gifted comedian but a tiny cretin of a man. And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,”

THE ODD SKIRMISH

Okay, maybe he does let that fire sign energy create a skirmish now and then; he might not always be able to handle challenging emotions and will suddenly morph into a bad-tempered Lion, but the Astro shows us he is basically a good guy with a long memory. He will probably never forget his first stage appearance as a teen in the musical “Martin Guerre” his brilliance in a drama series called “Fat Friends” or the fact that he was appointed ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire,’ by Princess Anne, no matter his critics, no matter the hassle and no matter a judgmental media.

James gives out and gives back. He paid the salaries of employees on the Late Late Show during the Pandemic. He launched a fundraising campaign with NBA to benefit Feed the Children. Love him or hate him, he is forging ahead; his life is like a Titanic that does not hit the iceberg. No matter what obstacles are thrown in his way, his Leo verve, chutzpah and determination will ensure he leaps right over them. So frankly, sucks to Clive of Clapham, who hates his guts; James will never let Nay Sayers rain on his parade. He is basically too much of a happy soul ever to let that happen!
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