James Corden is one of America’s favorite late night show hosts, with audiences and celebrities alike adoring his British accent and everyman charm. However, over the course of his tenure as host of The Late Late Show, the funnyman has visibly slimmed down, leaving fans to wonder if James Corden is now a vegan.
James Corden is not a vegan, but he has adopted a vegetarian diet. The late night show host turned movie star has lost 70 pounds since taking over the show from Craig Ferguson in 2015, but his transition into being a vegetarian has been gradual.
Read more below about James Corden’s weight loss journey, the differences between veganism and vegetarianism, and whether or not a healthy lifestyle was the catalyst for the switch in Corden’s diet.
From Fat Friends to Fat Shaming
Jame Corden had a successful career in Europe, where he had starred in a handful of popular television shows and had a stint on stage in The History Boys, but it wasn’t until he became the host of The Late Late Show in 2015 that he became a Hollywood A-lister. The host’s warmth and down to earth charm quickly won over audiences and his celebrity guests.
Unlike many of his famous counterparts, though, Corden was not super svelte, in fact, quite the opposite. During the start of his career, Corden had starred in a program called Fat Friends, a show that followed a group of overweight friends who attend weekly weight loss meetings, and when one of Corden’s former co-stars on Fat Friends shared a throwback photo of the duo and the late show host is barely recognizable.
Corden has always been open about his struggles with his weight. When Bill Maher, who shoots his own show out of the same building as Corden’s show, said that fat-shaming should make a comeback, Corden took umbrage with the statement, filming a segment about the social stigma of being overweight and how fat-shaming has the opposite effect, ending his thoughts by saying, “I am aware today that this is going to be a struggle that I will face for the rest of my life. But in the meantime, Bill, please hear me when I say this. While you’re encouraging people to think about what goes into their mouths, just think a little harder about what comes out of yours.”
Kryptonite Carbohydrates
Though Corden does not support bullying of any kind, he did want to get in better shape. Calling bread his “kryptonite,” the star cut out bread and sugar, incorporated more vegetables into his meals and stopped snacking throughout the day.
Never one to shy away from a comedic opportunity, Corden even enlisted movie star Mark Wahlberg, known for his fit physique, to help him out. Corden tried out Wahlberg’s intense workout routine, with hilarious results.
Vegan vs. Vegetarian
Despite the newfound interest in his health, it wasn’t just weight loss that prompted Corden to slowly phase into vegetarianism, but also his love of animals. Despite enjoying meat, of the transition, Corden said, “At Christmas, I read a story about the mistreatment of elephants and realised I was upset about animal welfare while eating a bacon sandwich. I was upset about animal welfare while eating a bacon sandwich. I thought, ‘Well, you really can’t be upset about elephants and not think about the pigs.’ I hope I can keep it [vegetarianism] up. I will certainly try.”
Though Corden has phased out meat products, he has not yet converted to a full vegan diet, given the different restrictions between the two. While vegetarians abstain from eating meat, poultry, seafood and animal byproducts, they are still allowed to partake in dairy products and eggs; vegans, on the other hand, do not consume any animal-derived products whatsoever.
You can see James Corden discuss vegetarianism vs. veganism on The Late Late Show in the YouTube clip below.
Though Corden is not currently a vegan, it’s clear he is dedicated to a healthier lifestyle, and a proponent of less cruelty towards animals, and has made small, but consistent changes to address both issues.