James Corden ends his eight-year stint on The Late Late Show with appearances from Tom Cruise, Harry Styles and Adele
James Corden said “it’s been life-changing” as he signed off from his final episode of The Late Late Show, after eight years at the helm.
His final show also featured A-list guests, such as Tom Cruise, Harry Styles, Adele and Will Ferrell.
In a prime-time special, Corden performed his own version of Last Dance by Donna Summer, where he sang: “Let’s blow CBS’ dough one last time – go big or go home on my last day in the sunshine.”
Once behind his desk, he told the audience: “This is a surreal day for all of us here, it’s crazy to me what we’ve done. We’ve done 1,200 Late Late Shows in the last eight years, and we are reaching the end.
“I want to take this minute right now in prime time to thank everybody who has worked here on the show with this family, this team, I love you so much. I will miss you.”
In the show, Cruise, who in the past has challenged Corden to take part in death-defying stunts with him, joined the host in a Broadway theatre, where they performed a surprise rendition of Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King, to a stunned audience.
Corden later thanked Cruise for being part of his show, to which the actor replied with his famous line from Jerry Maguire: “Shut up. You had me at hello.”
His prime-time special also showed his final Carpool Karaoke with Adele, where they duetted on tracks such as Rolling In The Deep and Funny Girl’s Don’t Rain On My Parade.
Corden confessed to the Essex-native singer in the skit: “It’s been a brilliant adventure, but I’m just so certain for us as a family, with people getting older and people that we miss, it’s time to go home.”
Elsewhere, President Joe Biden left a video message for Corden, referencing their sketch from last year’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner, and fellow late-night chat show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel also appeared in a skit where they attempted to convince Corden to stay on.
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Will Ferrell and Harry Styles joined Corden in his final episode, with both having made multiple appearances on the programme since it began and the latter even having guest hosted.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Styles, talking about his highlights of the show, referenced a dodgeball bit by saying, “I got hit in the nuts by Michelle Obama.”
Meanwhile, Step Brothers star Ferrell smashed Corden’s desk with a sledgehammer.
The trio played a brief game of “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” – a segment where guests are encouraged to reveal secrets and opinions, or face a disgusting food item instead.
During the game, Styles refused to rule out a One Direction reunion at some point in the future – but some may be left disappointed as the rumoured reuniting of the group on Corden’s final show never materialised.
James Corden, Jane Krakowski and Josh Gad filming a segment for his final show. Pic: AP
In his final goodbye, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Corden said: “It’s been life-changing.
“All we’ve ever wanted is just be a little bit of light, of levity at the end of your day. Thank you for letting me do this.”
He then played the show out on the piano, with those in the room saying he had to re-record one line in the middle, after getting emotional during the performance.
During his stint on the programme, he has interviewed some of the biggest celebrities in the world, including the Obamas and even Prince Harry.
There has been no announcement as to who might replace him as host of the long-running chat show.
Dolly Parton has declared she “ain’t dead yet” after her sister raised concerns about the singer’s health by asking people to pray for her.
“There are just a lot of rumours flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” the 79-year-old singer said in a new two-minute video posted on social media.
“I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me. And I ain’t done working,” she added.
In the footage, captioned “I ain’t dead yet!”, the 9 to 5 singer is seen on a set speaking directly to the camera.
On Tuesday, a Facebook post shared by her sister Freida Parton escalated concerns around Parton’s health when she wrote that she had been “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly”.
Hours later, Freida Parton followed up with a clarification. “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” she wrote.
“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.”
Dolly Parton during a concert in Nashville, Tennessee, in March. Pic: AP
Last month, Parton postponed her first Las Vegas residency in 32 years, citing “health challenges”.
She was scheduled to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in December. The dates have been moved to next September
Parton offered her own clarification about her health condition in Wednesday’s video.
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“Everyone thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you who seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate,” she continued.
“And I appreciate your prayers because I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything.”
Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in 2023. Pic: Reuters
She also referenced her late husband of nearly 60 years Carl Dean who died earlier this year at the age of 82.
“I want you to know that I’m OK. I’ve got some problems as I’ve mentioned. Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself. So I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of,” she said.
“So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said: ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.’ Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there.”
And in true Parton fashion, she ended with a joke: “I wanted you to know that I’m not dying”.
Dolly Parton’s sister has said that the country singer is “going to be just fine” after worrying fans by asking for prayers.
Freida Parton had asked people for prayers for the Jolene and I Will Always Love You singer on Tuesday.
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately,” Ms Parton wrote in a Facebook post.
“I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been [led] to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.
“She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”
Parton performs during her concert in Ijsselhallen in Zwolle, Netherlands, in 2007. Pic: AP
After shocked fans took to social media expressing worry about Parton’s health, her sister said in a second post on Wednesday: “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly.
“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister.”
It comes after Parton announced in September that she had to postpone her upcoming Las Vegas residency over “health challenges”.
Dolly Parton performs with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in 2023. Pic: Reuters
“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” the singer said at the time.
“As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”
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Parton said she was postponing the shows because she is “not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you”.
The country star was set to perform six shows at Caesars Palace in December, but her performance dates have been moved to September 2026.
“Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” Parton said as she announced the postponement of her shows. “But I believe he is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.”
The daughter of late actor Robin Williams has begged people to stop sending her AI-generated “slop” of her father.
“Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad,” actor and director Zelda Williams wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough’, just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening.”
Zelda Williams arrives in 2024. File pic: AP
She described the videos as “disgusting, over-processed hotdogs” made from the lives of human beings.
“You’re […] shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross,” she wrote.
It’s not the first time Williams has written about the impact of people sending her content about her father on social media.
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In 2020, on the anniversary of her father’s death, Williams posted on Instagram saying:
“While I am constantly touched by all of your boundless continued love for him, some days it can feel a bit like being seen as a roadside memorial – a place, not a person – where people drive past and leave their sentiments to then go about their days comforted their love for him was witnessed.”
“But sometimes, that leaves me emotionally buried under a pile of others’ memories instead of my own.”
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The death of Robin Williams in 2014, an actor and comedian known for his quick wit and wisdom, triggered a global outpouring of grief and tributes to the star still frequently surface on social media to this day.
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In 2023, Zelda appealed for the end of AI-generated content, saying in a widely-reported post on Instagram:
“I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”
“I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings.”
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