James Corden sparks gasps with X-rated joke about Dame Judi Dench's sex life at awards

stunned fans when he made an X-rated joke about in front of a live audience on Saturday night. The Gavin and Stacey star, 46, made the jaw-dropping comment at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony in L.A, which recognises winners for their scientific achievements within the entertainment, sports, and business industry.

James, who handed out one of the gongs on the night, has a history of making dodgy gags at award shows after he was forced to apologise after making a poorly timed joke about Harvey Weinstein in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against him in 2017. And on Saturday, he left fans shocked once again after crudely connecting Dame Judi, 90, and leading US medical advisor, Dr Anthony Fauci.

Addressing the audience, suited and booted, James announced: "Tonight is the one night that Hollywood and science come together, other than of course, that one magical evening where Dr. Fauci had a one night stand with Dame Judi Dench."

As the cameras paned to the star-studded crowd, which including A-lister, Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, Olivia Wilde, looked visibly shocked as the audience tittered nervously.

Dame Judi was, thankfully, not present at the awards on Saturday night which came less than seven years after James made an ill-timed comment about the disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein.

In the same month multiple allegations of sexual assault from women in Hollywood came out against Weinstein, stemming the #metoo movement, James said at the amfAR gala: "It's been this week watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water.

"Ask any of the women who watched him take a bath, it's weird."

The comment was met with audible groans from the audience, which included stars such as Tom Hanks, Kate Hudson and Fergie.

James continued: "I don't know if that groan was because you liked that joke or don't like that joke. If you don't like that joke, you should probably leave now."

While his monologue was met with cheers - as well as groans - on the night, James was widely slammed by his critics when the footage went viral, including Weinstein's alleged victim , who branded the Fat Friends star a 'piglet.'

Following the backlash, James took to Twitter, now X, apologising for his actions, saying: "To be clear, sexual assault is no laughing matter.

"I was not trying to make light of Harvey’s inexcusable behaviour, but to shame him, the abuser, not his victims. I am truly sorry for anyone offended, that was never my intention."

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