James Corden recalls hilarious unaired prank on Adele which went terribly wrong

James Corden hilariously recalled a joke about Adele that went horribly wrong when they filmed the last ever Carpool Karaoke together.

The Late Late Show host, 44, and his singer friend, 34, reminisced about their friendship while taping the last-ever episode of the popular skit.

It comes before James steps down as host of his US chat show to move back to the UK, with his final episodes airing later this week.

During his last ever Carpool Karaoke, James recalled the time he tried to prank Adele in 2015 with a prank that never aired on the Late Late Show.

He explained how the prank went horribly wrong when her assistant spotted a hidden camera, after which Adele felt “uncomfortable” with the setup.

Describing the disastrous prank, James explained how Adele had always told him that no one could ever make fun of her, stating that she was “not cut out for the prank.”

The comedian said Adele always insisted she wanted someone to try and “cheat” on her, which led to him deciding to give it a try in an elaborate setup for his chat show.

In an attempt to fool Adele, James shared how he and his team flew in a large animated bear from Canada to convince her that the animal had escaped from the Los Angeles Zoo.

As clips of the unaired gag flashed on screen, James recounted how real news outlets even got involved, with Gayle King recording a fake bulletin to read.

The plan was for Adele to arrive to record an interview before park rangers burst in to tell her the escaped bear was nearby, after which the fake animal would then frighten her.

“When you say it out loud now, it’s so ridiculous,” James admitted as he fleshed out the elaborate joke.

However, things quickly went wrong when Adele arrived early for the interview, turning the prank into complete chaos.

James said, “The worst part was you got there early,” while Adele added, “I’m always early.”

The Gavin & Stacey star shared how Adele’s assistant – who was unaware of the prank – had seen a hidden camera on a shelf in the house where they were filming.

He said, “Your assistant sees a small camera hidden on a shelf. We’re all like, ‘Oh my God, no,’ and of course he runs out and says to you and you were like, ‘I’m being spied on.’

Adele shared how she became convinced she was in a house owned by a “stalker” when she walked into a room and saw her face plastered over the walls.

She recalled, “I said, ‘Who owns this house?’ We’re going down, I was like, “I’m not happy about this”.

“And then there’s another room where I have to wait and I go in and there’s every piece of merchandise that’s ever been made of me.”

Footage from the unaired skit showed Adele entering the room and looking shocked, before saying to her assistant, “I’m not happy to be here, I’m really uncomfortable.”

As Adele began to feel more uncomfortable, James and his team were forced to abandon the bear prank to ensure they wouldn’t further scare the singer.

When James revealed himself from a recording room, Adele threw a series of expletives at him before the pair laughed.

James recalled the awkward situation and declared, “She can’t be fooled, she can’t be fooled!”

Elsewhere on Carpool Karaoke, Adele and James both burst into tears as the Daydreamer hitmaker discussed how her boyfriend had helped her after her divorce from Simon Konecki.

Adele finalized her divorce from her ex Simon Konecki in March 2021, two years after she first announced their separation.

While things started out on a friendly note, things turned sour when Adele revealed that James helped her through the breakup by taking her and her son Angelo, 10, on a family vacation with his wife Julia Carey and their three children.

She tearfully shared how a conversation she had with James over the holidays inspired her hit song I Drink Wine, off her fourth studio album.

Adele took a moment to explain the meaning behind the song before playing the hit and singing along to the poignant lyrics.

She said, “We don’t need to talk much about it, but the first verse of this song, which is one of my best lyrics, if I do say so myself, was inspired by a conversation you and I had.” ‘

She explained that on the way home from their holiday she had an emotional six-hour conversation with James when he admitted he was also going through a rough time.

She burst into tears and explained, “We were on our way home (from the holidays) and my mood had changed and it was just like the first year I felt like I had to hold myself accountable because I just was adult.

“As I left Simon the year before, you and Jules and the kids were so important to take care of me and Angelo.

‘You used to do it with humor, you used to have something like ‘good luck with that!’ with every kind of thing I pursued, and you always were, you were like an adult with me, you and Julia would always give me this advice.

“I remember saying to you on the way home, ‘what’s up?’ you just seemed down, and you explained it all to me, you didn’t feel strong, and we had a six-hour talk about it all the way home.”

Explaining how he felt at the time, James added, “It was work stuff and the internet and all that stuff.”

Adele then replied, “It got me thinking, I felt so unsafe, while you felt unsafe, because you’ve always been like (the adult) you have, since I was 21.”

“I went to the studio a few weeks later, I wrote (I Drink Wine) and I sang it into my phone and sent it to you, and I remember you saying ‘that’s exactly how I felt’.”

James was teary-eyed as he described it as a “privilege” to have a song dedicated to him, and said he was amazed she had translated how he felt into her music.

He said, “It was everything I felt that day, I was floored by how you managed to take everything I felt about myself and life and put it into a verse.

“It is the greatest privilege, of such honest conversation between friends, that you have accomplished such a thing.”

When the song started playing, James said he burst into tears upon hearing the song, before they both blasted out the poignant lyrics.

Adele admitted that she always thinks of James when she sings the song as the friends shared a very tearful moment together.

The hit includes the lines, “How come we’ve both become versions of a person we don’t even like?”

“We are in love with the world, but the world only wants to bring us down, putting ideas in our heads that somehow corrupt our hearts.”