'Ungracious and wrong': James Corden apologises for bad Balthazar behaviour

The talk show host has publicly addressed the abuse allegations that led to him being banned from a Soho restaurant last week.

The talk show host has publicly addressed the abuse allegations that let to him being banned from a Soho restaurant last week.

James Corden admits he had been, erm, “ungracious” towards staff at New York restaurant Balthazar, in behaviour that led the TV presenter being banned from the Soho haunt.

During the latest episode of his talk show, The Late Late Show, the comedian addressed the recent reports his unpleasant behaviour, saying that he had been “walking around thinking that I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Last week in an Instagram post, Balthazar owner Keith McNally announced he would be banning the actor from his restaurant after he was “extremely nasty” to staff. He said that Corden was “the most abusive customer to my servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.” 

McNally wrote that he doesn't “often 86 a customer,” but “today I 86’d Corden. McNally went on two detail two egregious incidents of Corden acting "diabolical” to staff.

The incidents in question...

In June this year, Corden found a hair in his meal, and showed it to his server “after eating his main course.” Totally normal behaviour. Why flag a stray strand when you spot it when you can eat an entire meal under its watchful gaze, stewing in contempt? 

“Corden was extremely nasty to G,” wrote McNally. He then, allegedly demanded the waiter ‘Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way I [don’t] write any nasty reviews in yelp or anything like that.’”

The second report of balky behaviour took place in October, when his wife ordered an “egg yolk omelette” (???). “James called their server, M. K. and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk.”

The kitchen remade the dish, but not without committing a mortal sin: they sent it back 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!”

In mere hours, Corden's lifetime ban was retracted after he called up McNally to "profusely" apologise for his 'abusive behaviour' after the withering post. 

“Having fucked up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances," McNally wrote.

“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," McNally continued. “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.”

On Monday night's episode of the show, Corden admitted that his Balthazar behaviour was 'unnecessary, ungracious, rude, and wrong.' 

"Genuinely, I love it. there," he said of the restaurant. Explaining that his comments were made "in the heat of the moment", because his wife, who "has a serious food allergy", was brought the wrong dish three times. 

“As her meal came out wrong to the table the third time, in the heat of the moment I made a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself,” he said. 

“It is a comment I deeply regret,” he said, explaining that because he “didn’t shout or scream” or “call anyone names or use derogatory language” he was under the blissful impression that he “hadn’t done anything wrong.”

“But the truth is, I had,” he said. “I made a rude comment, and it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server.”

In response to his apology, Keith McNally shared what he ha declared the "last word" on the Corden debacle. Praising the host for 'graciously apologising.'

"It takes a real man to do this. In the past, I've behaved much worse than Corden, but wasn't man enough to apologize," he wrote. "For this reason, I'm going to lift the ban on Corden and impose one on myself instead. I'm going to ban myself from Balthazar for 2 weeks. People who live in Glass Houses…”