James Corden has insisted he “did nothing wrong” after the owner of a famous New York City restaurant publicly claimed he was the “most abusive customer” to dine at the establishment in his 25 years history
The Late Late Show He has since addressed the viral scandal, in which restaurateur Keith Mr McNally, 71, temporarily banned him from Balthazar for being “abusive” with staff and branded Corden a “little cretin man”.
“I have done nothing wrong, on any level,” the 44-year-old entertainer told the New York Times in an article.
“So why should I cancel this (interview)?
“I feel very zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s very silly. I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your post.”
McNally responded to Corden’s latest comments about the alleged incident in another Instagram post Friday local time.
“When James Corden said on yesterday’s NY Timhe hadn’t done ‘nothing wrong, on any level’, was he kidding me? Or was I denying being abusive to my servers? Mr McNally wrote.
“Whatever Corden meant, his implication was clear: He didn’t. Although I didn’t witness the incident, much of the staff at my restaurant did. They had nothing to gain by lying. Corden did.
McNally extended an offer to the billionaire.
“I wish James Corden would live up to his Almighty initials and come clean,” he continued.
“If the supremely talented actor wants to regain the respect he had from all his fans (all 4) before this incident, he should at least admit that he did wrong.
“If he goes one step further and apologizes to the 2 servants he insulted, I’ll let him eat free at Balthazar for the next 10 years.”
In his interview with The New York TimesCorden also claimed he had not “really read” Mr McNally’s initial explosive comments about him on social media.
“I think I’ll probably have to talk about it on Monday’s show,” Corden said.
“My feeling, often, is, never explain, never complain. But I’ll probably have to talk about it.”
The British TV star was responding to a scathing Instagram post posted by Mr McNally earlier in the week.
“James Corden is a very gifted comedian, but a cretinous little man. And the most abusive customer of my servers at Balthazar since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,” McNally wrote.
The restaurateur first claimed Corden was soliciting gifts and threatened the restaurant with a bad review after a strand of hair was found in his food in June.
“After eating his main course, Corden showed his hair to Balthazar G’s trainer who was very apologetic,” she wrote alongside a snap of the comedian.
“Corden was extremely nasty to G and said, ‘Give us another round of drinks this second.’ And also take care of all our drinks so far. That way (I don’t write) any nasty reviews on Yelp or anything like that.”
In another incident which allegedly took place on October 9, Mr McNally claimed Corden attacked his staff after the dish his wife Julia Carey ordered was not prepared the way she wanted had asked
“Mr. Corden’s wife ordered an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese and salad. A few minutes after receiving the food, James called his server, MK, and told her that there was some egg white d ‘egg mixed with the egg yolk. MK informed the floor manager, G. The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad,’ the post continued.
“That’s when James Corden started yelling like crazy at the server, ‘You can’t do your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go to the kitchen and cook the omelette myself!'”
McNally claimed the server was “profusely” apologetic and brought in the manager who gave the couple complimentary glasses of champagne to ease tensions. The manager reported that Corden was nice to him but “obnoxious” to the server.
“I don’t often do a client, (but) I heard Corden today. He didn’t make me laugh,” McNally wrote at the end of the post.
The term “86” is culinary slang that refers to removing unavailable menu items, or in this case, customers who are no longer welcome.
According to the restaurant owner, the star’s public naming and shaming quickly went viral and reportedly prompted Corden to personally contact McNally.
McNally said Corden called him to apologize “profusely” for his behavior, prompting him to revoke the ban.
But whether or not the ban will be reinstated now that Corden seems to deny it remains to be seen.