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Who is Kim Saira? Anti-fan of James Corden's 'Spill Your Guts' faces death threats

'Asian Americans are consistently bullied and mocked for their native foods, and this segment amplifies and encourages it,' wrote Kim Saira in a petition against James Corden's 'Spill Your Guts'

The activist who launched a petition demanding James Corden drop his 'Spill Your Guts' segment on the 'Late Late Show' is allegedly facing severe pushback, including daily death threats. Activist Kim Saira, of Filipino and Chinese ancestry, has garnered nearly 50,000 signatures for her petition. But she told TMZ that while she had received a wave of support, she was also being inundated with tons of hate mail.

Enraged critics are now sending her brazen death threats on a daily basis. Saira added that she was disappointed by Corden's response to her petition, which he reportedly made during a brief statement during a recent appearance on the Howard Stern radio show. According to the pro-Asian activist, the late-night talk show host could help put an end to the hate she was receiving, some of which allegedly included racially-charged attacks. However, she is now "wondering if he even cares about what she's going through," TMZ reported.

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'Disgusting' or 'delicacy'?

Corden's late-night talk show features a recurring segment "Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts," which saw several celebrity guest stars — from Justin Bieber to the Jonas Brothers — partake in either answering to the comedian's most shocking questions or stuffing themselves with exotic foods from across the globe posed as "disgusting" dares. In a viral TikTok video on June 7, activist Saira slammed the segment saying that certain Asian delicacies, such as balut, a fertilized duck egg dish from the Philippines, shouldn't be labeled as "disgusting."

She went on to launch a petition on Change.org, amassing nearly 50,000 signatures at the time of writing. In her petition, Saira urged Corden to take down or completely modify the controversial segment. Furthermore, she demanded that he formally apologize to Asians on The Late Late Show and make donations to local organizations supporting Asian-owned restaurants and businesses.

"In the wake of the constant Asian hate crimes that have continuously been occurring, not only is this segment incredibly culturally offensive and insensitive, but it also encourages anti-Asian racism. So many Asian Americans are consistently bullied and mocked for their native foods, and this segment amplifies and encourages it," Saira wrote, before organizing a #CancelSpillYourGuts event at the CBS lot where 'The Late Late Show' was filmed last Thursday, June 24.

On June 16, Corden sat down with Howard Stern on his eponymous radio show to address the petition and proposed changes he'll be making to 'Spill Your Guts.' "We heard that story, and the next time we do that bit, we absolutely won't involve or use any of those foods," the 42-year-old talk show host explained. "Our show is a show about joy and light and love, we don't want to make a show to upset anybody. In the same way that when we played it with Anna Wintour, we gave her a pizza covered in cheeseburgers. Do you know what I mean?"

The talk show host, however, minimized the anti-Asian controversy by saying, "It's not for us to determine whether somebody's upset or hurt about something," adding, "All we can do is go, 'All right, we get it, we won't do that.'"

Corden's statement on the streaming radio show, however, did not sit well with Saira, who expressed her disdain and frustration toward the host for not airing the statement on 'The Late Late Show' as she had requested in her petition. "The Late Late Show did not reach out to me about this statement, I actually found out from another news source I was interviewing with," she said in an email to the Today show. "After listening to what he said, to be completely honest with you, I'm really disappointed in this statement, which in my opinion, isn't an apology. In my petition, I have specifically asked for James Corden to publicly apologize on his show, and the reason why I was really specific about that was because I think it is imperative for his hundreds of thousands of viewers to understand the harm that mocking these foods, rooted in Asian cultures, has on Asian people who still eat them." She added, "Besides that, I still think he should be donating to Asian organizations as well. I'm still looking forward to whether he will address this publicly and apologize."