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James Corden Apologizes for Being ‘Ungracious’ After Keith McNally Banned Him From Restaurant
Yikes. Famed restaurateur Keith McNally slammed James Corden in a scathing Instagram post, in which he detailed alleged “abusive” behavior the staff at his popular Balthazar restaurant in New York City has received at the hands of the late night talk show host.
“James Corden is a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man. And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,” McNally captioned a close-up photo of Corden’s face, before revealing he banned him from the restaurant. “I don’t often 86 a customer, today I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh. Here are two examples of the funny man’s treatment of my staff. He behaviored [sic] similarly in my former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, a few years back.”
McNally, 71, went on to share two alleged instances documented by managers at the restaurant, the first being in June, in which Corden, 44, claimed he found a hair in his dish after he had already finished it.
Noting that “it happens very occasionally in all restaurants,” McNally wrote: “After eating his main course, Corden showed the hair to Balthazar manager G. who was very apologetic. Corden was extremely nasty to G, and said: ‘Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way I write any nasty reviews in Yelp or anything like that.’”
The second instance McNally wrote in his Instagram caption allegedly occurred in October when Corden and his wife, Julia Carey, dined at Balthazar for brunch.
“He asked for a table outside. Brunch Maitre D’ Allie Wolters took the party to table 301. Mr. Corden’s wife ordered an egg yolk omelet with gruyere cheese and salad,” read the alleged excerpt from the manager’s report. “A few minutes after they received the food, James called their server, M. K. and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk. M. K. informed the floor manager, G. The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad.”
The report went on to allege that the small mishap sent the Late Late Show with James Corden host into a fury, “yelling like crazy” at the server, “You can’t do your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelet myself!”
McNally’s caption said that the server was “very apologetic” and brought the manager over to the table. “He returned the dish, and after that, everything was fine. He gave them promo Champagne glasses to smooth things out,” the caption continued, adding that the manager said, “Corden was pleasant to him but nasty to the server,” who was “very shaken” but “continued to finish her shift” because of the “professional that she is.”
It appears the situation was rectified later that day, as McNally revealed that the Cats actor reached out and “apologized profusely.”
“Having f—ed up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances,” McNally wrote in part via Instagram. “Anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar … So Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is forgiven.”
Corden first addressed the claims during an interview with New York Times on October 20. He told the outlet that he didn’t do “anything wrong, on any level,” adding that the whole situation was “silly.”
However, he seemed to change his mindset while addressing his actions during the October 24 episode of The Late Late Show.
He explained that the incident began when he “made a sarcastic comment” about cooking the food himself after Carey had been served food she was allergic to. Corden also claimed they messed up the order three times.
“It is a comment I deeply regret,” the talk show host said. “Because I didn’t shout or scream, I didn’t get up out of my seat, I didn’t call anyone names or use derogatory language, I have been walking around thinking that I hadn’t done anything wrong, right? But the truth is I have. I made a rude comment and it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server.”
Corden then shared what happened when he called McNally after he announced the ban on Instagram. “I told him how upset I was that anybody was hurt by anything that I had done and anything that I had said,” he explained. “We had a good talk. He appreciated the call. I was happy that we got to clear the air. And I felt like we dealt with it privately. But by this point the story was out there and people were upset.”
He concluded the topic by stating that it was “never my intention” to “upset” people. Corden added, “I love that restaurant. I hope I’m allowed in again one day so I can go there and apologize in person which is something I will absolutely do.”
A rep for Corden did not immediately respond to In Touch’s request for comment.
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