It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for the host of The Late Late Show With JamesCorden, who was banned from the New York City brasserie amid allegations thatthe “tiny cretin of a man” had been “abusive” to the servers. A day later, theban has been lifted after owner Keith McNally said the TV host “apologizedprofusely.”
A rep for Corden has not yet responded to Yahoo’s request for comment.
The drama started on Monday when McNally, the famed restaurateur who openedthe SoHo restaurant in 1997, took to Instagram to complain about the BritishTV personality’s behavior while dining at the hotspot, which is frequented bycelebrities and a home of movie premieres and posh parties .
He called Corden “a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man” aswell as “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since therestaurant opened 25 years ago. I don’t often 86 a customer, to today I 86 ‘dCorden. It didn’t make me laugh.”
Balthazar in NYC. (Photo: Getty Images)
McNally — dubbed “the restaurateur who invented downtown” by the New YorkTimes — shared manager’s reports outlining “the funny man’s treatment of mystaff.” One instance involved Corden finding a hair in his food. “Althoughthis is diabolical, it happens very occasionally in all restaurants,” henoted. However, after the manager apologized, Corden said, “‘Get us anotherround 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.'”
There was another incident this month when Corden and his wife, Julia Carey,were there for al fresco brunch. Carey ordered an egg yolk omlette withgruyere cheese and salad. “A few minutes after they received the food, Jamescalled their server … and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixedwith the egg yolk.” The dish was remade but accidentally sent with “home friesinstead of salad.”
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Julia Carey and James Corden at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2020. (Photo:REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)
“That’s when James Corden began yelling like crazy to the server, ‘You can’tdo your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen andcook the omlette myself!” Another correction was made and the manager gavethem Champagne “to smooth things out.” While Corden was pleasant to themanager, he was “nasty to the server” leaving her “very shaken.”
Balthazar restaurant in NYC. (Photo: Mark peterson/Corbis via Getty Images)
However, six hours after the first post came another saying Corden called himto apologize and the ban was lifted.
“James Corden just called me and apologized profusely,” McNally wrote. “Havingf***ed up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances.So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for 9 months, I’llimmediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not. But … anyonemagnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff)doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar. So Come Backto the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is forgiven.”
McNally told Page Six that he was “reluctant” to post about the actor’sbehavior but wanted to protect his staff, explaining, “Their jobs are hardenough already. They shouldn’t have to take this kind of abuse from anyone,especially the rich and famous.”
Corden announced earlier this year that he will be leaving his Late LateShow gig in the summer of 2023. He explained, “I never want this show tooverstay its welcome in any way. I always want to love making it. And I reallythink that a year from now, that will be a good time to move on and see whatelse might be out there.”