text: During his surprise comedy skit at the Emmys on Sunday, Sean Spicer may have made light of his six-month tenure as the White House press secretary, but a message was also embedded in his performance. 
   
   In an interview on Monday morning, Mr. Spicer said he now regrets one of his most infamous moments as press secretary: his decision to charge into the White House briefing room in January and criticize accurate news reports that President Barack Obama’s inauguration crowd was bigger than President Trump’s. 
   
   “Of course I do, absolutely,” Mr. Spicer said. 
   
   For Mr. Spicer, who resigned this summer after repeated clashes with the news media and a sharp disagreement with Mr. Trump over the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as communications director, the Emmys were his latest attempt to court the largely liberal coastal entertainment and news elites he so acidly disdained as the president’s alter-ego spokesman. The once-obscure party spokesman has been elevated to a level of celebrity he scarcely dreamed possible a year ago. And, like many before him, he hopes to translate his embattled tenure into something more lasting and lucrative. So the Emmys were also a chance for Mr. Spicer to cultivate a television industry audience that he may need as he seeks speaking engagements and paid television appearances in his post-White House life. ||||| Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. What do you think of it? What else are you interested in? Let us know: thearts@nytimes.com. 
   
   ‘In the Spirit of Sean Spicer’ 
   
   The internet was ablaze on Monday with debate over whether the Emmys broadcast — and the after-parties that followed — had helped rehabilitate the image of the former White House press secretary Sean Spicer. James Corden was in one of the most incriminating photographs, caught trying to give Mr. Spicer a kiss on the cheek. 
   
   On “The Late Late Show” on Monday, Mr. Corden first tried denying it, taking a page from the Spicer-Trump playbook. 
   
   “Now, I know you think that’s a picture of me kissing Sean Spicer, but in the spirit of Sean Spicer, no, it isn’t.” — JAMES CORDEN 
   
   Then he tried an excuse: He’d been too inebriated to know what he was doing. 
   
   “Anyone ever have that feeling when you get a little drunk and then wake up the next morning and think, ‘Oh, God, who did I kiss last night?’ It’s a bit like that.” — JAMES CORDEN “To be fair, everyone was kissing ass last night, I just happened to kiss the biggest one there.” — JAMES CORDEN 
   
   Finally, Mr. Corden showed about a dozen images of himself kissing other celebrities, suggesting that he hadn’t given any special love to Mr. Spicer (nor shown any particular restraint around him). “Basically, what I’m saying is, I need to learn how to shake hands,” Mr. Corden said. ||||| Washington (CNN) Sean Spicer said "of course" he regrets the time he trashed the press for reporting accurately on President Donald Trump's Inauguration Day crowd, The New York Times reported. 
   
   "Of course I do, absolutely," the former White House press secretary told the newspaper Monday. 
   
   The day after Trump's inauguration, the President sent Spicer into the briefing room to dispute the true size of the crowd he drew at the inauguration. Side-by-side photos showed a larger gathering for former President Barack Obama, but Spicer declared , "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period." 
   
   The Times did not state specifically the wording of the question Spicer was responding to. 
   
   Spicer, in a late-night show following his resignation, said that interaction in the briefing room was not "probably the best start." 
   
   Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to Trump, said Spicer was using "alternative facts" when he disputed the inauguration coverage. 
   
   Spicer's latest comments came a day after he played a prominent role in the Emmy Awards, taking the stage and mocking the first comments he made in the White House briefing room as the President's principal spokesman. 
   
   "This will be the largest audience to witness the Emmys, period -- both in person and around the world," he said. 
   
   Spicer, who resigned when Trump tapped Anthony Scaramucci for what became a brief stint as communications director, drew controversy on the job for his misleading statements and confrontational approach to the press corps.
target: – Days before Sean Spicer appeared at the Emmys, Stephen Colbert suggested the former White House press secretary shouldn't be forgiven for lying to the public. "He wants to be forgiven, but he won't regret anything he did," Colbert said on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday. "You got to regret something you did to be forgiven." After a busy weekend in Hollywood, however, Spicer is 'fessing up to one major regret, reports the New York Times. Asked Monday if he regretted blasting journalists for accurately reporting that President Trump's inauguration crowd was smaller than former President Obama's—then claiming Trump's "was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period"—Spicer replied, "Of course I do, absolutely." The comment followed Spicer's much-debated appearance at the Emmys, in which he claimed, "This will be the largest audience to witness the Emmys, period," per CNN. He says he hopes Trump isn't offended. It was "an attempt to poke a little fun at myself and add a bit of levity to the event," says Spicer, who wore a disguise as he traveled from Washington to Los Angeles. The Times points out the appearance was also an opportunity for Spicer "to cultivate a television industry audience that he may need as he seeks speaking engagements and paid television appearances in his post-White House life." So far so good: Guests afterward lined up to get a photo with the former press secretary. James Corden was even seen kissing him, per the Times.