The ongoing saga of James Corden and the restaurant staff he was reportedly rude to continued Friday with the owner of the New York City restaurant Balthazar could eat free there for life if he apologizes to two servers.
To recap: Corden was banned from the location after owner Keith McNally called him a “tiny cretin of a man” who was also “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.” McNally said that the comedian and host was banned for life from any of his restaurants.
While Corden didn’t publicly respond, the internet was abuzz with similarly rude stories about the “Late Late Show” host and “Cats” costar, including one involving his wife, his baby and an airplane.
But it seemed as though the brouhaha had cooled down. Earlier this week McNally, again on Instagram, claimed that Corden apologized and the ban had been lifted. ““I strongly believe in second chances,” McNally wrote.
But then Corden had something to promote (his new limited series “Mammals”) and what was probably envisioned as a puffy profile for The New York Times instead turned into something altogether different.
“I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level,” Corden told The New York Times. “So why would I ever cancel this? I was there. I get it. I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly. I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.”
As you can imagine, McNally saw the article and took some issue with Corden’s tone.
“I’ve no wish to kick a man when he’s down. Especially one who’s worth $100 Million, but when James Corden said in yesterday’s NY Times that he hadn’t done ‘anything wrong, on any level,’ was he joking?” McNally wrote on Instagram. “Or was he denying being abusive to my servers? Whatever Corden meant, his implication was clear: he didn’t do it.”
While the ban hasn’t been reinstated, McNally did offer Corden a challenge: “If the supremely talented actor wants to retrieve the respect he had from all his fans (all 4 of them) before this incident, then he should at least admit he did wrong. If he goes one step further and apologizes to the 2 servers he insulted, I’ll let him eat for free at Balthazar for the next 10 years.”
Considering how expensive Balthazar is, Corden would be saving a pretty penny.
