James Corden has spoken of the “heart wrenching and frightening” decision of the US Supreme Court to reverse a major piece of abortion legislation.
The actor and comedian said the “incomprehensible” decision, which occurred last week, had moved the country “back to a dark age” and endangered “millions of women and their families”.
It comes after the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which granted a constitutional right to abortion, was overturned on Friday.
The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states.
Speaking live opposite the Palace of Westminster in London, on the first of a special set of recordings for The Late Late show, Corden drew comparisons between the US and UK legal systems.
"It's incomprehensible that in 2022, we should need to even say out loud that women should be entitled to control their own lives and bodies."
James Corden takes a moment at the top of tonight's show to address the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/EW8I5RU3pO
— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) June 27, 2022
“It was here in 1967 that David Steel, a member of parliament brought in a bill which legalised abortion in the UK,” he said.
“Now, if that was ever to change, it would take at least 326 elected officials to agree to such a thing.
“It would then take another 400 appointees in the House of Lords to vote on that bill before it could ever become law.
“So that’s nearly 800 people who would all have to agree before the fundamental rights of half the population would be endangered in the United Kingdom.”
He continued: “For the past eight years, I’ve been living, working, raising my young family in America.
“It’s a place I love.
“You don’t need to live in the United States, or even have an American child as I do to feel utter disgust and anger at the news from the Supreme Court where six politically appointed judges can make a decision that ends the constitutional right to abortion across America.
“A woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body, wiped out in a moment in the land of the American Dream, the land of the free a country which prides itself on the protection of an individual’s liberties.
“We move instantly back to a dark age, where a court has imposed the minority political view on a country for decades to come with a decision that endangers millions upon millions of women and their families.”
“To say that I’m outraged and devastated would be an understatement.”
He continued: “It’s incomprehensible that in 2022 we should even have to say out loud that women should be entitled to control their own lives and bodies, let alone live in a country that won’t allow it.
“If only the American leaders on the right would care and fight as much for the rights of women, as they do their guns.
“It’s heart wrenching and frightening.”
Corden is due to record a week of shows in the UK following the announcement that this series of The Late Late Show will be his last as host and he will step down in 2023.
Other US celebrities including Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers and Olivia Rodrigo addressed the controversial US ruling during their sets at Glastonbury music festival over the weekend.
Rodrigo, who is 19, brought out British singer Lily Allen during her set to perform the singer’s hit song F*** You in response to the decision.