"To be fair, everyone was kissing a** last."
James Corden isn't thrilled about that kiss pic either.
During his monologue on Monday's Late Late Show, the 39-year-old host made light of the criticism he received after a photo surfaced of him jokingly kissing former White House press secretary Sean Spicer on the cheek at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.
"According to some reports, at the after-party, Spicer was the most popular guy in the room," he began. “And I just want to say, I think people are forgetting that this man lied to the American people, and should not be embraced. These Hollywood phonies kissing up to Sean Spicer are disgusting. I mean, who did this? Who are we talking about here?!"
Setting himself up, the image of Corden smooching Spicer then popped up on the screen. "I know you think that is a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer. But in the spirit of Sean Spicer -- no, it isn’t!" he quipped, making a few jokes at Spicer's expense. "To be fair, everyone was kissing ass last night at the Emmys. I just happened to kiss the biggest one there."
Corden added that he understands why "some people have been disappointed by this photo," noting that "in truth, I’m disappointed by it as well."
Acknowledging his haters, Corden continued, "I have been reading a lot of harsh comments on Twitter today, and I hear you loud and clear. Truly, I do."
Prior to addressing the photo, the late-night host cracked another joke about Spicer's surprise appearance at the Emmys. "The big winners last night were Donald Glover, Hulu and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer,” he said. “Spicer won best actor in a comedy for his role in Donald Trump’s administration."
Following Emmys host Stephen Colbert's politically charged opening number during Sunday's awards show, Spicer and his podium took the stage -- and nobody was more shocked than Veep star Anna Chlumsky.
“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period,” Spicer said. “Both in person and around the world.”
Meanwhile, Melissa McCarthy -- who famously parodied the former White House staffer on Saturday Night Live -- had a different reaction to his surprise cameo.
Check it out:
