James Corden has restaurant ban lifted after ‘apologising for abusive behaviour’
The manager of a New York restaurant who banned James Corden for “abusive” behaviour has said “all is forgiven” after the British TV host reportedly apologised.
Keith McNally, manager of the Balthazar in Manhattan, said Corden was a “hugely gifted comedian” but a “tiny cretin of a man” as he posted details on Instagram of two occasions he claims the actor was rude to staff.
He added The Late Late Show host was the most “abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”.
Mr McNally added he had “86’d Corden” – a colloquial term to mean he was barred.
Outlining the first of two separate alleged incidents, Mr McNally said Corden was “extremely nasty” to a member of staff after finding a hair in his food.
Mr McNally conceded finding a hair in food is “diabolical” but said the manager in the restaurant at the time was “very apologetic”.
He added Cordon later demanded a round of free drinks “this second” and also wanted the restaurant to “take care of all our drinks so far”.
He said the 44-year-old actor threatened he would otherwise write a nasty review.
Mr McNally said the second incident took place on 9 October when Corden complained “there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk” in his wife’s omelette.
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His post continued: “The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it 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!'”
Mr McNally added the waitress was “very shaken” by what happened.
However, hours after announcing the ban on Instagram on Monday, the restaurant manager wrote to say it had been lifted after receiving an apology.
Mr McNally wrote: “James Corden just called me and apologised profusely.
“Having f***** up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances. So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for nine months, I’ll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not. But….anyone magnanimous enough to apologise 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. xx”
In April, Corden announced that he will be stepping down as The Late Late Show host next year.
He has presented the show from Los Angeles since 2014 and has extended his contract with CBS until summer of 2023.
Corden is best known in the UK for co-writing and starring in the sitcom Gavin and Stacey.
Sky News has contacted James Corden’s representatives for comment.