James Corden’s Gay ‘Prom’ Portrayal Panned as ‘Gross and Offensive … One of the Worst Film Performances of the 21st Century’

Generally excellent reviews are coming in for The Prom, Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, and while Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman are getting raves as is the movie as a whole, James Corden has earned some wrath for his performance as a gay man. In the ongoing debate about straight actors playing gay roles, it’s not a good look.

Tweeted Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson: “It’s one of the worst film performances of the 21st century.”

Erik Anderson, the founder of AwardsWatch, tweeted “Really liked #TheProm. A gorgeous and vibrant production. Streep is hilarious and commanding. Keegan-Michael Key is dreamy. Kidman, Rannells and Washington are fun. Ariana DeBose is winsome. But it’s Jo Ellen Pellman who has my heart in a wonderful, star-making turn. The main, and huge, drawback is James Corden. His performance is gross and offensive, the worst gayface in a long, long time. It’s horrifically bad.”

More tweets about Corden’s performance below.

The film, directed by Murphy from a script by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, is set to debut on Netflix on December 11. Check out the trailer HERE.

Ryan Murphy’s #TheProm is receiving mostly positive reviews from critics who are praising the film’s tone and most of its performances, but James Corden has been slammed for his “offensive” and “questionable” performance. pic.twitter.com/r7s9rpqSVn

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 30, 2020

THE PROM taught me a real lesson about tolerance. I used to think that it was permissible for a straight actor to play a gay character in some circumstances; now I'm willing to go hard-line against it if it means denying James Corden even one future role.

— jesse (@rockmarooned) November 29, 2020

The main, and huge, drawback is James Corden. His performance is gross and offensive, the worst gayface in a long, long time. It's horrifically bad. https://t.co/av5W0SlxFX

— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) November 29, 2020

James Corden has a line reading about Scruff in Indiana that will haunt me for the rest of my life

— Daniel Trainor (@dantrainor1) November 29, 2020

It’s one of the worst film performances of the 21st century

— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) November 29, 2020

Except Corden. I seldom am upset by straight actors playing gay and found him offensive on top of wildly miscast. There are other actors, famous ones, straight ones even, who could have done this and better.

— Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil) November 29, 2020

It’s funny because i generally believe that you don’t need to be gay to play a gay character, and that arguing otherwise does more harm than good, but then we get james corden in #TheProm and it makes me rethink everything

— fa-la-la-la-lauren ❄️🎅🏻🎄🎁 (@laurenjcoates) November 30, 2020

“The Prom” shouts about tolerance but has James Corden leaning into effeminate gay stereotypes every chance he gets. Someone make it make sense?

— Zack Sharf (@ZSharf) November 30, 2020

The synopsis: “Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden) are New York City stage stars with a crisis on their hands: their expensive new Broadway show is a major flop that has suddenly flatlined their careers. Meanwhile, in small-town Indiana, high school student Emma Nolan (newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman) is experiencing a very different kind of heartbreak: despite the support of the high school principal (Keegan-Michael Key), the head of the PTA (Kerry Washington) has banned her from attending the prom with her girlfriend, Alyssa (Ariana DeBose). When Dee Dee and Barry decide that Emma’s predicament is the perfect cause to help resurrect their public images, they hit the road with Angie (Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman) and Trent (Andrew Rannells), another pair of cynical actors looking for a professional lift. But when their self-absorbed celebrity activism unexpectedly backfires, the foursome find their own lives upended as they rally to give Emma a night where she can truly celebrate who she is.”