Late night host James Corden said he was disappointed in himself after he was photographed kissing former White House press secretary Sean Spicer at the Emmys.
Spicer made a surprise appearance at Sunday’s show when he came out during Stephen Colbert’s monologue to joke about the crowd size.
Spicer was poking fun at himself in reference to his comments he made during his first press briefing telling reporters that President Trump had the “largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period – both in person and around the globe.” Many media outlets pointed to photographs of the inauguration that seemed to suggest the crowd was not as large as Spicer said.
Spicer announced his resignation from the position on July 21.
Variety posted the photo of Corden kissing Spicer on the cheek which was scrutinized by social media users and celebrities. “Scrubs” actor Zach Braff tweeted: “I’m not ready to laugh ‘with’ Sean Spicer. I think he is an evil, opportunistic liar that hurt our country.”
Corden responded to the backlash Monday during his “Late Late Show.”
“Now, I know you think that’s a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer, but in the spirit of Sean Spicer, no, it isn’t,” Corden joked.
“Anyone ever have that feeling when you get a little drunk and then wake up the next morning and think, ‘Oh, God, who did I kiss last night?’ It’s a bit like that.”
“To be fair, everyone was kissing ass last night, I just happened to kiss the biggest one there,” Corden said.
“Understandably, some people have been disappointed by this photo. In truth, I am disappointed by it as well. I’ve been reading a lot of harsh comments on twitter today and I hear you loud and clear. Truly I do. So much so, I am really starting to regret that Carpool Karaoke we taped with Steve Bannon,” Corden concluded.
Corden proceeded to show him kissing other celebrities at the Emmys as a way to prove that Spicer did not get special treatment.
“Basically, what I’m saying is, I need to learn how to shake hands,” Corden said.