The Most Arrogant Talk Show Hosts

James Corden is adept at playing the role of the affable Brit out of water, and his tenure on "The Late Late Show" has delighted audiences with iconic segments like "Carpool Karaoke" (who can forget former first lady Michelle Obama bopping with Missy Elliott, for example?). But beneath that cheeky veneer, revelations regarding Corden's supposed arrogance have left some fans astounded.

The dents in Corden's glowing reputation manifested in a 2019 Reddit AMA, wherein several users roasted him for his many alleged indiscretions. That same year, a late-night writer took to Twitter to accuse Corden of attempting to undermine union writers by recommending "a lower pay grade," though Corden denied this, claiming he was advocating for younger talent. Years before this, however, his more controversial behavior was on full display.

When accepting the audience award for "Gavin & Stacey" at the 2008 BAFTAs, Corden came across as wholly ungracious, grumbling (via Metro), "Just out of interest, how can the best comedy performance and programme of the year not be eligible for best sitcom?" Sir Patrick Stewart later castigated Corden for his seemingly rude manner at the 2010 Glamour Awards, declaring, "Don't stand at the back of the stage with your hands in your pockets looking around as though you wished you were anywhere but here." As The Guardian previously paraphrased in 2008, "Corden says he had a confidence problem — too much of it."

As former host of "The Late Show," David Letterman was once synonymous with the talk show circuit, becoming an iconic figure in late-night entertainment. However, the post-#MeToo era has led to his reputation being sullied by numerous unsavory revelations. In 2019, the extent of Letterman's alleged abuse of power — as his former writer Nell Scovell put it in Vanity Fair — particularly in his admitted interactions with women, was eye-opening. 

As previously reported by the New York Daily News, Letterman allegedly bullied and yelled at both his colleagues and guests. "There comes a moment when he turns on you," an anonymous co-worker claimed. While EP Rob Burnett alleged that Letterman was perpetually moody, writer Eric Stangel claimed that he behaved "like a pervy old man at times" — something which manifested onscreen. Not only did he infamously creep on Jennifer Aniston, sucking on the actor's hair as she squirmed in her seat, before blaming her for the entire ordeal after she expressed her discomfort, but the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Taylor Swift, Janet Jackson, and many others were all subjected to his unreciprocated on-air advances. 

Letterman himself admitted to doing some "terrible" and "creepy stuff" during an episode of "The Late Show," later telling Scovell he finds it "so disturbing" looking back on his on-set behavior. "I'm sorry I was that way. ... I felt horrible because who wants to be the guy that makes people unhappy to work where they're working? I don't want to be that guy. I'm not that guy now. I was that guy then."

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Throughout the years, Bill Maher has perhaps become less known for comedy and better known for his somewhat fearless willingness to embrace opinions that are neither popular nor politically correct. As posited by Jacobin Mag, the controversial talk show host boasts a "distinctly metropolitan smugness that revels in causing offense then greeting the inevitable blowback with caustic superiority." 

For instance, Maher's first show, the aptly titled "Politically Incorrect," was canceled by ABC due to comments he made in the weeks following 9/11. As reported by The New York Times, he went against the consensus of the time by claiming that Americans, as opposed to the terrorists who hijacked the planes, were "cowardly." Maher continued with this approach on HBO's "Real Time," often being accused of expressing anti-Muslim sentiments — famously, he was called out by Ben Affleck for jokingly dismissing Islamophobia in 2014, with the actor branding his views as "gross and racist." Amid allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on, Maher has perhaps unsurprisingly joined a long line of middle-aged comedians taking aim at so-called "wokeness" and "cancel culture." 2021, for example, saw Maher defend Dave Chappelle's transphobic jokes.

In 2015, Salon lambasted Maher's "arrogant schtick," arguing that his "aggressive brand of atheism ... has gained a strong following among a certain type of self-professed intellectual ... which is pretty funny, given the know-it-all arrogance of the anti-religion big leaguers like Maher himself."

As host of "Piers Morgan Live" and "Good Morning Britain," Piers Morgan seemingly made a career out of being disliked by much of the public — and his peers. In a 2014 column for The Times, fellow TV host Jeremy Clarkson lambasted Morgan for "his stupid Twitter boasts about his huge fame and lavish lifestyle," adding that his CNN "show failed because the viewers hated him. Everyone hates him." Ouch.

By March 2021, Morgan's controversial remarks about Meghan Markle resulted in tens of thousands of complaints, leading him to literally walk off the ITV morning show's set and resign. The Guardian branded him "the man who never knew when to stop." Away from the camera, Morgan has been embroiled in some other allegedly shameful improprieties — and we're not talking about his propensity for the more-than-occasional the celebrity Twitter feud.

While Morgan has long denied his involvement, the former editor of the Daily Mirror found himself at the center of the tabloid's celebrity phone hacking scandal in the late 2000s. Fellow TV presenter Jeremy Paxman even alleged to the Leveson Inquiry that Morgan once explained to him in explicit detail how to hack a phone, as reported by The Guardian. While Lord Justice Leveson stated the allegation didn't prove Morgan's involvement, he did add, "What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behavior that he was prepared to joke about it."

The notion of "The Jeremy Kyle Show" might seem unfathomable in the current climate. Often compared with the likes of "The Jerry Springer Show," Jeremy Kyle appeared to take the moral high ground on his eponymous tabloidesque series in the UK, when, as argued by The Guardian, he was allegedly attacking the most economically deprived and marginalized people in society "as if decency and compassion are middle-class affectations."

Subsequently, the Independent suggested that Kyle contributed heavily to the demonization of the poor. "Kyle exploited people's genuine problems (which were frequently mental health related) for entertainment, using faux concern and cod psychology to give a paper-thin veil of respectability to the nastiness. Kyle, for his part, was vicious — a pugnacious troll with a God complex," the publication posited.

Indeed, Kyle's frequent targets included the unemployed, young single mothers, and those with substance use issues, as his show appeared to quench viewers' thirst for public shame and ridicule. In a New! magazine column (via the Mirror), singer Kerry Katona called Kyle "an arrogant little t***," claiming that his show was "a vehicle to mock lower class people with no teeth, whose mental health problems aren't always taken seriously." While defenders of the show have noted that Kyle attempted to resolve whatever issues the guests had, albeit in exchange for being verbally lambasted at great length, this controversial technique tragically resulted in the death of a contestant by suicide shortly after filming an episode, effectively bringing the longtime series to an end in 2019.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

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If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.