James Corden: There Is No Reason for Me to Exist

The Grammys are this weekend, and host James Corden is making a pretty strong case about his role in the show. Yesterday, during the “ceremonial unrolling of the red carpet,” Corden, who also hosted the Grammy’s last year, told Variety, “In truth, this show doesn’t need a host.” Huh, you don’t say.

Technically Corden was talking about the fact that the ceremony would feature so many great performances (like Miley Cyrus with Elton John, Bruno Mars and Cardi B, and of course Kendrick Lamar with, sigh, U2 and Dave Chapelle.) But it’s hard to ignore a good argument when you see one. Corden then went on, via Variety:

“Most awards shows are groups of millionaires giving each other gold statues. So you need a host to make it feel like a show,” Corden said. “This is the best [music] lineup you could ever imagine to see. What we have to do is essentially be there for the moments when [producers] realize they need the cameras to be facing somewhere else.”

I get that there are more performances at the Grammys than, say, the Golden Globes, but to insinuate that the Grammys isn’t also groups of millionaire giving each other gold statues is insane?

“This is all about this music. It’s all about these great artists. We’re just going to try to bring in some little tiny pockets of joy wherever we can.”

One not-so-joyous thing that will be hanging over the Grammys is the #MeToo movement, which has not affected the music industry in the way it has Hollywood despite sexual abuse being just as rampant. In fact, the one thing crazier than trying to frame the Grammys as NOT millionaires rewarding each other is the fact that the entire industry appears to be completely ignoring the feminist upheaval that is affecting their acting counterparts.

Kesha will be performing her song “Praying,” likely delivering a powerful moment for the cause in light of her case against alleged abuser Dr. Luke, and there will probably be some great girl-power numbers. But one thing that not even the most absent of hosts can obscure is the music industry’s relative silence when it comes to #MeToo.