Restaurateur Keith McNally announced on Instagram Monday that James Corden had been banned from one of his renowned New York City establishments, calling the Late Late Show host “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers” in the restaurant’s 25-year history.
“James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man,” McNally opened his post. “And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago. I don’t often 86 a customer, [but] today I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh.”
McNally cited two incidents: one in June where Corden complained to the manager about a hair after eating the main course. Corden was allegedly “extremely nasty” toward the apologetic manager, demanding the restaurant comp his table’s previous drinks while also receiving another free round.
In the second incident, Corden allegedly returned to the restaurant earlier this month with his wife. McNally claims the comedian complained to their server about a “little bit of egg white” in her egg yolk omelette. The kitchen remade the dish, but put home fries, instead of a salad, as his spouse initially requested.
“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,’” McNally wrote. The manager was able to resolve the matter, but it was clearly the last straw for McNally.
A plot twist came later Monday evening, as McNally shared a follow-up post. “James Corden just called me and apologized profusely,” he wrote. “Having fucked 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. xx.”
Ban or no ban, it may all be the same to Corden, who will step away as host of The Late Late Show next year. According to Variety, he will likely be returning to the U.K. following the conclusion of his eight-year late night show run.