The ongoing saga of James Corden and restaurant staff was reportedly hard to continue on Friday, with New York City restaurant owner Balthazar apologizing to the two servers he could eat for free for life.
In short: Corden was banned from the spot after owner Keith McNally called him “a man’s little cretin,” who was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar server since the restaurant opened 25 years ago. ” McNally said the comedian and host was banned for life from any of his restaurants.
While Corden didn’t publicly respond, the Internet was filled with similarly unsubtle stories about the “Late Late Show” host and “Cats” costar, involving his wife, their baby, and an airplane.
But it seemed as if the braha had cooled down. McNally earlier this week, again on Instagramclaimed that Corden apologized and the ban was lifted. “I strongly believe in second chances,” McNally wrote.
But then Corden had something to promote (his new limited series “Mammals”) and what was possibly envisioned as a Puffy Profile for The New York Times Instead something completely different happened.
“I haven’t done anything wrong on any level,” Corden told The New York Times. “So why would I ever cancel it? I was there. I get it. I feel zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly. I think it’s all down to us. It’s yours.” It’s down. It’s definitely at the bottom of your publication.”
As you can imagine, McNally saw the article and took some issue with Corden’s tone.
“I have no desire to kick a man when he’s down. Especially one that’s worth $100 million, but when James Corden said in yesterday’s NY Times that he did ‘anything wrong, at any level’ Didn’t, so was he kidding?” McNally wrote on instagram, “Or was he refusing to be disrespectful to my server? Whatever Corden meant, the implication was clear: He didn’t.”
Although the ban has not been reinstated, McNally made a challenge to Corden: “If the supremely talented actor wants to receive the respect from all his fans (all 4 of them) before this event, he must at least accept it. Should be done wrong. If he goes a step further and apologizes to the 2 servers he insulted, I’ll let him eat at Balthazar for free for the next 10 years.
Considering how expensive Balthazar is, Corden would be saving a pretty penny.
