James Corden restaurant ban lifted after he 'apologized profusely,' owner says
James Corden is allowed back at Balthazar.
It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for the host of The Late Late Show With James Corden, who was banned from the New York City brasserie amid allegations that the "tiny cretin of a man" had been "abusive" to the servers. A day later, the ban has been lifted after owner Keith McNally said the TV host "apologized profusely."
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 opened the SoHo restaurant in 1997, took to Instagram to complain about the British TV personality's behavior while dining at the hotspot, which is frequented by celebrities and a home of movie premieres and posh parties.
He called Corden "a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man" as well as "the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago. I don't often 86 a customer, to today I 86'd Corden. It did not make me laugh."
McNally — dubbed "the restaurateur who invented downtown" by the New York Times — shared manager's reports outlining "the funny man's treatment of my staff." One instance involved Corden finding a hair in his food. "Although this is diabolical, it happens very occasionally in all restaurants," he noted. However, after the manager apologized, Corden 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.'"
There was another incident this month when Corden and his wife, Julia Carey, were there for al fresco brunch. Carey ordered an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese and salad. "A few minutes after they received the food, James called their server ... and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk." The dish was remade but accidentally sent with "home fries instead of salad."
"That's when James Corden began yelling like crazy to the server, 'You can't do your job! You can't do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself!" Another correction was made and the manager gave them Champagne "to smooth things out." While Corden was pleasant to the manager, he was "nasty to the server" leaving her "very shaken."
McNally noted Corden behaved "similarly" at his former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, "a few years back."
However, six hours after the first post came another saying Corden called him to apologize and the ban was lifted.
"James Corden just called me and apologized profusely," McNally wrote. "Having f***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’ll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not. But ... 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."
McNally told Page Six that he was "reluctant" to post about the actor’s behavior but wanted to protect his staff, explaining, "Their jobs are hard enough already. They shouldn’t have to take this kind of abuse from anyone, especially the rich and famous."
The Balthazar drama hitting social media opened the floodgates. Many have shared or reshared unconfirmed anecdotes of similar behavior from the TV personality. One story being circulated, from several years back, claimed Corden, while dining with Harry Styles at the now shuttered Manchurian Legends in London, "treated the wait staff like s***" and when his party was asked to quiet down he "got really aggressive." Another describes an allegedly bumpy plane ride involving Corden, Carey and one of their children. And a clip being circulated shows Corden being unable to name any of his Late Late Show camera operators. In short, not many seemed surprised by all of this.
Corden first rose to fame in his native England starring in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which he also co-created, from 2007 and 2010. He became famous in the U.S. after succeeding Craig Ferguson as the host of The Late Late Show in 2015. While "Carpool Karaoke" became a big hit, the job hasn't been without controversy. Last year, there was a petition to change his "Spill Your Guts segment" which had Corden and guests mocking Asian delicacies. He agreed to make changes amid the backlash.
Corden — who has been everywhere from hosting the Friends reunion and awards shows to appearing in the Camila Cabello's Cinderella remake — announced earlier this year that he will be leaving his Late Late Show gig in the summer of 2023. He said he never wanted the show "to overstay its welcome" and he feels it's the right time to "move on and see what else might be out there."