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WATCH: James Corden gets emotional as he delivers passionate speech about racism

The chat show host spoke out about George Floyd's death

James Corden got emotional as he delivered a passionate speech about racism, following the tragic death of George Floyd.

The 41-year-old addressed George’s murder as he opened The Late Late Show on Tuesday night, amid ongoing protests against police brutality in the US.

James said: “Good evening everyone, thank you for staying awake and joining us on one of the saddest, scariest, yet most important times of our lives…”

“As you’ll all know, on Monday of last week a black man named George Floyd was murdered by the excessive force of the police.”

“If it was a one-off event, it would be an appalling, horrific tragedy that should shake all of us to our core,” he continued.

“Yet this was the latest in a string of killings of unarmed black citizens by white people. Breonna Taylor was shot by police in her own home.”

“Ahmaud Arbery was going for a jog when he was shot and killed by two men. And sadly, there are so many more victims that I could mention.”

“And I have been struggling all weekend wondering what to say to you here tonight, because who needs my opinion? Why is my voice relevant? There is not one person in the world who woke up this morning and thought, ‘I need to know what James Corden thinks about all of this.'”

“Surely this is a time for me to listen not talk. And then I realised that that’s part of the problem. People like me have to speak up,” he said.

“To be clear, I’m not talking about late night hosts or people who are fortunate, like I am, to have a platform. I’m talking about white people.”

“White people cannot just say anymore ‘yeah I am not racist’ and think that that’s enough, because it’s not. It’s not enough.”

“Because make no mistake this is our problem to solve. How can the black community dismantle a problem that they didn’t create? We shouldn’t be just trying to understand the rage. We should feel the rage.”

During the show’s opening segment, James also spoke to bandleader Reggie Watts about his experience of growing up black in America, and James shared British rapper Dave’s moving performance of ‘Black’ from this year’s BRIT Awards.

George Floyd died in hospital on Monday, after he was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin while being arrested for allegedly using a fake $20 note in a shop.

A video of the harrowing incident went viral on social media last week, sparking mass protests across the US.

Following calls for his arrest, Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, and three other officers involved in the incident have been fired.

On this week’s episode of #GossChats, Ali Ryan chats to Love Island winner and rugby star Greg O’Shea about his experience on the reality show, what REALLY happened after his split from Amber Gill, and some of the strange things women have sent him in his DMs…

#GossChats is sponsored by top Irish aesthetic clinic Haus of JeJuve.

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