GRAMMYS 2018

Grammys 2018: James Corden Makes a Confession About Hillary Clinton’s Appearance in that Fire and Fury Sketch

He said Hillary Clinton was in it long before she was confirmed.

by Elizabeth Logan

James Corden explains how Hillary Clinton saved his Grammys sketch
John P. Filo/CBS

Viewers of the 2018 Grammy Awards were surprised to see former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pop up at the end of a video segment about celebrities reading Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury, the salacious book about life inside the Trump White House. Nikki Haley wasn’t a fan of the bit, but it seems that the stars who participated were very into the idea—on the condition that the final reader would be Clinton. But that, host James Corden revealed, wasn’t a certainty until the last moment.

His team had the idea for the segment about 11 days before the Grammys, Corden explained on Monday night’s The Late Late Show, but knew the joke would only land if Clinton popped up at the end. “We’d emailed [Hillary’s] people and we had not heard anything, but we had to get on and shoot it,” Corden said. “So, basically, we just lied to everyone. We told Cher, ‘Oh, Hillary’s doing it.’ DJ Khaled, Snoop, Cardi B, they all said yes because they thought that Hillary was doing it and we had no idea whether Hillary would do it or not. We’d shot all the parts without her being there.”

Luckily, Clinton was up for participating—and lucky for Corden, as he noted, that he didn’t have to have to call Cher and admit he lied. Watch him recount the tale, below.

Related: James Corden Reveals the Secret to a Great Karaoke Performance

Grammys 2018: See Lady Gaga, Cardi B, and More of the Biggest Stars in Music on the Red Carpet

Lady Gaga attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Kevin Mazur

Cardi B attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Kevin Mazur

Lana Del Rey attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)

John Shearer

Camila Cabello attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Steve Granitz

SZA attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS)

Lester Cohen

Jaden Smith attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)

John Shearer

Kesha attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images)

John Shearer

Janelle Monae attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Jamie McCarthy

Elton John attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson carries a white rose at the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Kevin Mazur

Tyler, the Creator attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Jamie McCarthy

Rita Ora attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Kevin Mazur

Pink with her daughter Willow Sage Hart attend the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS)

Lester Cohen

Cyndi Lauper attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)

Christopher Polk

Nick Jonas attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Jamie McCarthy

Hailee Steinfeld attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for NARAS)

Kevin Mazur

DJ Khaled and his son Assad attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS)

Lester Cohen

Miley Cyrus carries a white rose at the 60th Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018, in New York. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)

ANGELA WEISS
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