'Abusive' James Corden Called Out By Top NY Restauranteur For Bad Behavior: 'Tiny Cretin Of A Man'
By Fiyin Olowokandi on October 17, 2022 at 6:50 PM EDT
Talk show host James Corden is being put on blast by a famous New York-based restauranteur, Keith McNally.
McNally, who has been hailed as "The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown," recently expressed his displeasure towards Corden and went as far as banning him from his restaurant.
The OG restaurant founder, who has been on the scene since the '80s, has several eateries to his name, including Cafe Luxembourg, Minetta Tavern, Pravda, and Balthazar.
Keith McNally Calls Out Badly Behaved James Corden
McNally took to Instagram to share a blurred photo of "The Late Late Show with James Corden" host alongside some heated words. "James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian but a tiny Cretin of a man. And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago," the London native began his rant.
McNally shared that he wasn’t usually one to call out a customer but he had to for the show host because of the way Corden had treated his staff. Making things worse, the restauranteur alleged that the British comedian had exhibited such nasty behavior in his former restaurant Cafe Luxembourg some years ago.
The restaurant owner went ahead to cite two instances where the "Cats" star crossed boundaries and was mean to his staff. Recalling his manager’s first report against Corden, McNally wrote, "In June, James Corden was here on table 61. (Although this is diabolical, it happens Very occasionally in all restaurants.) After eating his main course, Corden showed the hair to Balthazar manager G. who was very apologetic."
He continued, "Corden was extremely nasty to G and said, "Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way, I write any nasty reviews in yelp or anything like that.'"
The second incident happened earlier this king on October 9, when Corden visited Balthazar with his wife for brunch and asked for a table outside. His wife Julia Carey reportedly ordered an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese and salad.
McNally wrote, "A few minutes after they received the food, James called their server, M. K., and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk. M. K. informed the floor manager, G. The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad."
It was at that error that the 44-year-old "Gavin & Stacey" star lost and yelled like crazy to the server, saying, "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 shared that the server reached for the manager, who came out to smooth things out, even offering them promo Champagne glasses.
The restaurant owner shared that while Corden was pleasant to the manager, he remained nasty to the server, who was "very shaken, but professional that she is, continued to finish her shift."
Fans Slam The Late Late Show Host
In the comments section, fans rallied around McNally while expressing their disappointment at the comedian. One fan wrote, "He’ll never carpool karaoke in this town again!!!"
One comment read, "My number 1 rule never trust anyone who is rude to waiters or those who help you in any way😡," while this user noted, "Put them all. It’s unbelievable how people treat servers. And the threat of a bad review, they should be threatened by posts like this."
On Twitter, this user noted, "He's known as being an absolutely awful human being, especially to restaurant and hospitality workers," while this fan supported the sentiment, writing, "Not the first time I’ve heard this (not this particular phrasing but you know what I mean)."
Corden is yet to respond to the accusations publicly. In May, the Hillingdon native announced he was departing "The Late Late Show" in 2023 after extending his contract for just one more year.
As The Blast reported, he shared that the decision was difficult, saying, "It’s been it’s a really hard decision to leave because I’m so immensely proud of the show. I’m thrilled to be extending [for a year]. I always thought I’d do it for five years and then leave."
By the time Corden hangs his boots in 2023, he would have served for eight and a half years as a host.