Carpool Karaoke fans everywhere were stunned — stunned! — this week when a viral video depicted host James Corden and guest Justin Bieber filming a segment in a car that was being towed on a trailer rather than driven. The sanctity of this institution suddenly seemed in jeopardy. Or as the person who tweeted the video put it, “Saw James corden and Justin Bieber filming carpool karaoke and this is why I have trust issues — he isn’t even driving!”

The video has now been viewed more than 13 million times — which, as Corden pointed out while addressing the situation on Wednesday night’s Late Late Show, is more views than some Carpool Karaoke segments get. Running through some faux-outraged headlines and tweets about the scandal, Corden quipped, “I’m just shocked I’ve done something that upset people more than Cats.”

Corden insisted these instances are a rarity. “I always drive the car unless we’re doing something where we think it might not be safe,” he said, “like a dance routine or a costume change or if I’m drunk.” He provided what he said is a full list of the Carpool Karaokes for which he used a tow: Meghan Trainor, Cardi B, Migos, Chance The Rapper, and this upcoming Justin Bieber segment. “When it comes to Carpool, with very rare exceptions for safety, I’m driving the car,” Corden said. “And I want credit for it because I was raised driving on a completely different side of the road.” He also joked about people getting so worked up about the integrity of such an obviously artificial TV gag: “And I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but while we’re getting things out in the open, I don’t actually need them to help me get to work. Right? Often I’m at work already!”

On Twitter, Bieber weighed in on the scandal after Corden’s mea culpa aired: “Wait… you weren’t driving the car? How could you James? I’m shocked.” His tweet as well as the original viral video and Corden’s confession can be found below.

Saw James corden and Justin Bieber filming carpool karaoke and this is why I have trust issues — he isn't even driving! pic.twitter.com/bkP9moGJmu

— Zoli ⚡️ (@zolihonig) January 23, 2020