Rivaling the caliber of any rap battle that, I imagine, occurs in the anecdotal “streets” was that between Cara Delevingne, Dave Franco and James Corden on the host’s Late Late Show Wednesday night. In the segment entitled, “Drop the Mic,” each star entered the stage like professional fighters, with the drama already mounting before a single word had been shared betwixt the trio. All coming out in clouds of fog and adorned in lustrous robes, the determination in their eyes was palpable.
Shedding their cloaks before the battle begun, it was Corden who took the mic first and started doling out his initial round of insults. The “rhyme killer with no filler” as Reggie Watts had just previously described him, first goes after Franco, declaring: “You can thank your agent for getting you this bit, we can all agree you’re not famous enough for it,” and, “I’m pretty sure we actually meant to book your brother.” Going after Franco’s level of celebrity proved to be quite the source of inspiration for his opponents as Cara later quips, “Dave Franco, oh you’re here too! I’m like America, I’ve never noticed you.”
Franco, however, then gets his revenge labeling Corden as a “less talented, much fatter Mr. Bean” and a “sad, bloated James Bond.” Moving his attention to the 23-year-old British model, the younger Franco questions: “You think you’re an actor in movies right now? Try to hide an accent thicker than your eyebrows.” Delevingne throughout this snub looks on with venom in her eyes awaiting her imminent reprise.
With much of the narrative in this “Drop the Mic” segment centered around Delevingne’s inability to act, it was she who ultimately got the last laugh. With stellar clap backs to both Corden and Franco alike, the MVP insult of the night was indubitably one that was directed at both of her opponents simultaneously. Standing in the middle of the stage, she sneers: “You’re both shorter than me and I think that you’ll find, I’ve hooked up with hotter girls than both of you combined.” The crowd lost it, and when it came time to determine a victor based on the loudest cheers, it was the Suicide Squad actress who came out on top.
Just as the segment’s moniker suggests, Delevingne celebrated her victory by grabbing all three mics and dropping them triumphantly to the ground.