James Corden vows to apologize to the restaurant staff in person. Image Source: Deadline
James Corden vows to apologize to the restaurant staff in person.
On Monday’s episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, the host responded to Keith McNally’s allegations made against him for being a hostile customer to his restaurant staff.
After a week off, James Corden returned to The Late Late Show and addressed the recent viral accusations made by restaurant owner Keith McNally of being hostile to his servers. James told the audiences that last week there were stories about him being forbidden from a restaurant making the rounds all over the media, and at the time he considered speaking about it but asserted that he prefers to adopt a British attitude, which is to never complain and never explain.
The comedian-host stated that his father pointed out to him on Saturday that he did sort of complain, so he needed to clarify and told him that when someone makes a mistake, they must take accountability, so he thought he would share what happened with the audience. In his explanation, James said was in New York with his friends at one of his favorite spots for their food, his wife, Julia Carey who has food allergies which the host explained to the audience, was given food that might have activated her allergies, so they had to send the food that arrived on the table back. James explained that after describing to the server what was wrong with the order they brought, they returned the food, but when the order was brought wrong again, he made a sarcastic rude remark about cooking it himself in the heat of the moment.
James explained the food allergies his wife has and acknowledged that it is a comment that he deeply resents and comprehends the challenges of being a server, adding that he has done work shifts at restaurants for years He stated that he has great respect and value for anyone who does such a job, and the team at the restaurant is brilliant; this is why he enjoys returning to that restaurant. James Corden stated that the staff of Balthazar brought out champagne as an apology for them which made him think that the situation was resolved until it was not.
The host continued that he thought that everything went smoothly and he had not done anything wrong, but the truth is that he made a rude comment and it was wrong and it was unnecessary comment, adding that the comments came out as ungracious to the server. After Keith McNally took to his social media to address the situation and announce that James Corden was no longer welcome at New York City restaurant Balthazar, he immediately got his phone number and spoke to him about what had happened.
James shared during the episode that he and Keith had a good talk and Keith appreciated that he called him up and got a chance to clear the air. James said that he felt like they could have dealt with it privately, but by the point he reached out to Keith McNally to clear the air, the story of him being an 'abusive customer' was out in public and people were upset and angry about it. He added that, as he said to Keith McNally that day if he had ever upset anybody, it was never his intention to hurt someone, adding that he loves the staff there and mentioned that he hopes that he is allowed in again at the Balthazar one day and stated that when he comes back to New York, he could go there and apologize in person if he is allowed.
During a conversation with The New York Times on Thursday to talk about his forthcoming Amazon Prime Video series Mammals, James Corden first spoke out on the subject. He insisted during the conversation that he had done nothing wrong on any level. James Corden explained that he was feeling very Zen about the whole thing, because he finds it amusing. According to The New York Times, James Corden appears to believe it is beneath everyone talking about this. They are beneath it. It's certainly beneath their publication.
Keith McNally slammed James Corden again in response to his New York Times interview, claiming that when James Corden said in yesterday's NY Times that he had not done "anything wrong, on any level," he was joking. Keith wishes James Corden might well live up to his illustrious initials and start being honest. If the hugely talented actor desires to reconquer the respect he had from all of his fans before this incident, he should at the very least admit he made a mistake. He'll let him eat at Balthazar for free for the next ten years if he goes the extra mile and apologizes to the servers he insulted.
Recently Keith McNally posted on his social media that it's going to be the last word from his side and appreciated the comedian for acknowledging that he did make a mistake. Keith said that James Corden very graciously apologized for his outburst at Balthazar on his TV show and mentioned that it takes a real man to do this. The owner went on to self-reflect stating that in the past he has behaved so much worse than James Corden but he was not man enough to apologize and for this reason, he is going to lift the ban on James Corden and impose one on himself. Keith concluded that he is going to ban himself from Balthazar for 2 weeks. People who live in Glass Houses.
