James Corden ignites feud with ‘tacky’ Lily Allen after singer’s savage claim that ‘beg friend’ TV star was ‘desperate’ to find fame

James Corden has dismissed Lily Allen’s pointed comment that he was desperate to be friends with her, according to sources. The former late night host reportedly called the singer’s comments on her podcast “tasteless.”

Corden, who has returned to the UK after living in the US for almost a decade, was recently called a “begging girlfriend” by the British singer as she recalled their first meeting.

Allen, 39, made the statement while hosting her Miss Me? podcast with her childhood best friend and fellow “nepo baby” Miquita Oliver.

The comments came after Corden, 45, was accused of bad manners, rude behavior behind the scenes and presenting himself as a “good guy” to the public.

An insider told DailyMail.com exclusively that the Gavin & Stacey star thinks Allen was ‘a bit stupid to say anything at all.’

“James gets a lot of flack for how he treats people over and over again and is a very polarizing person,” the source said. “He’s kind of like Ellen DeGeneres these days, you either like him or you don’t, no in between.

‘So when Lily talked bad about him the other day, for James it was just another day in his life, another day like any other hater.’

They continued: ‘He thought it was tacky of Lily to bring up their past and that it was a bit stupid of her to say anything about it at all.

“He believes he’s never been desperate and that he deserves better and is pretty much done with people talking negatively about him. But the only way that’s going to change is when he starts changing himself.”

The insider added that the former Late Late Show host still doesn’t understand why so many people have spoken out against him in recent years.

“James doesn’t understand why he’s pissing people off because he’s just being himself,” the source added. “But being himself is a bit delusional and the problem really is that he’s always focused on himself and if you don’t befriend him or take his side, he makes you feel like it’s your fault.”

The source noted that the TV star needs time to think if he wants to avoid future arguments.

“It’s a matter of respect, and it’s a two-way street that James doesn’t always adhere to, so this will continue to happen until he changes his own attitude and approach,” they said.

Corden’s feud with Allen is the latest in a long line of allegations about his diva-like behavior in recent years.

Last year he was sensationally banned from New York restaurant Balthazar after owner Keith McNally claimed the divisive TV presenter had behaved “extremely vile” to staff on two separate occasions.

Although Corden initially dismissed the drama as “nonsense,” he later apologized.

“I made a rude comment, and it was wrong,” he said. “It was an unnecessary comment. It was rude to the server.”

Six months later, director Craig Duncan, who worked with Corden on a British game show in 2013, added fuel to the fire by launching a particularly personal attack on the comedian.

Duncan called him the “most difficult and annoying presenter” he’s ever worked with. Corden, he claimed, swore at staff on set and called Duncan “stupid.”

‘I hope I never, ever have to collaborate with anyone. [Corden] “Again,” Duncan added.

Sharon Osbourne called Corden “a name-dropper” during her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in March.

“I’ll tell you who does it, James Corden. He does it all the time,” she said.

According to the reality star, Corden liked to tell people what designer clothes he owned and she also thought he was “playing the LA game” when he left the UK for Hollywood.

She said, ‘I go up to him and say, “I really like your shoes,” and he goes, “Yeah, Stella McCartney.” I’m like, I didn’t ask you who made them, I just said I like your shoes. He played the L.A. game really well.’

Allen caused a stir last month when she claimed Corden was a “begging girlfriend” after he accused her of cheating on him, when she “absolutely wasn’t.”

The Smile singer claimed he had been “very flirty” with her on her talk show Lily Allen and Friends in 2008, explaining that they had spent a short, “vague” time together afterwards.

According to the musician, Corden had misread the signals and wrote in his book that she had misled him.

“Yeah, James Corden was a bit of a beggar friend to me,” she explained. “James Corden came on my talk show and was really flirty with me and we became friends and I introduced him to a group of my friends.”

A ‘beg friend’ is described as a person who ‘begs’ for your attention in the hopes of forming a friendship.

The mother of two continued: ‘I think he wrote in his book that I was stringing him along or something – but I absolutely was not.

‘I think he might have thought it was taking a little longer.

“But yeah, if I ever had a famous friend, it’s James Corden.”

Allen added: ‘He doesn’t beg me anymore. I don’t beg him. There’s nothing I can do for him now, he’s good.’

Corden wrote of Allen in his 2011 memoir, “She’s confident, funny, and intelligent. I think I’ve been on a date with Lily a total of four or five times—and none of them were real dates.

“It always seemed like there were other people involved, not just the two of us.”

He wrote that “reality hit him” when he was with Allen at her home, along with some of her friends.

Allen then apparently said she was going to bed, so Corden went upstairs with her, where she showed him to the guest room and wished him good night.

“I’ve never felt like such a dick,” he wrote. “Who was I trying to fool? I remember lying in bed and realizing how badly I had misread the signals. There was no me and Lily, it was all in my head.”

Allen previously said she felt Corden “drew her in” during the TV interview on her BBC Three talk show.

In the episode, Corden told Allen, “Listen, ignore all those people out there, okay, and I don’t know you…”

Allen interrupted him and joked, “Just fuck me… no, no,” to which the audience erupted in laughter and applause.

She then said, ‘Thank you so much… that’s how you get into a girl’s pants. Well done, well done, James. Are you single at the moment?’

He replied, ‘Complicated… no, I am, yes.’

In 2017, Allen claimed she couldn’t “stop” him at the time because she would have been labeled “cold” or “snobby.”

When someone told her on Twitter that she was “horny for James Corden,” along with a link to the episode he appeared in, she responded, “No, I wasn’t horny for James Corden either.”

“He came at me in front of a studio audience. If I had cut him off, I would have been labeled ‘cold’ or ‘uptight’ or ‘snobbish.’ [sic].

DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for James Corden for comment.