"The Late Late Show" host James Corden is sounding off.
Late-night host Bill Maher delivered a monologue on his HBO show last week in which he said fat-shaming "needs to make a comeback" and that "some amount of shame is good." The following Thursday, Corden responded with his own monologue.
"So I sat at home and I'm watching this and all I could think of, I was like, oh, man, somebody needs to say something about this!" Corden said. "If only there was someone with a platform who knew what it was actually like to be overweight, and then I realized, 'Oh, that will be me.'"
"Fat-shaming never went anywhere," he continued. "Ask literally any fat person. We are reminded of it all the time — on airplanes, on Instagram, when someone leaves a pie on the window sill to cool and they give us a look, like, 'Don't you dare.'"
Corden added that he has spent much of his life working on his own weight, but the issue is not as simple as Maher implies.
"There's a common and insulting misconception that fat people are stupid and lazy, and we're not," Corden said. "We get it, we know. We know that being overweight isn't good for us and I've struggled my entire life trying to manage my weight and I suck at it. I've had good days and bad months."
Corden isn't the only celebrity who's been speaking out against fat-shaming. Singer Camila Cabello took to Instagram last month to remind younger female fans that "cellulite is normal, fat is normal." Outspoken body-positivity activist Demi Lovato frequently speaks about her struggles with disordered eating and her efforts to feel confident in her own skin.
Corden added that he did believe that obesity in America is an epidemic, but said that Maher's comments weren't the way to try to handle the issue. Corden continued to explain that weight problems have many sources, including genetics, medical conditions and poverty.
"It's proven that fat-shaming only does one thing," he said. "It makes people feel ashamed, and shame leads to depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior."
Later, Corden added, "Let's be honest, fat-shaming is just bullying. It's bullying, and bullying only makes the problem worse."