“I think I’ll probably have to talk about it on Monday’s show,” James Corden said in one extremely awkward The New York Times interview last week. “My feeling, usually, is never explained, never complained. But maybe I’ll have to talk about it.”
So, reluctantly, there’s Corden behind Late evening table on Monday, try to explain allegedly terrible behavior got him banned from Keith McNally’s New York restaurant Balthazar, who has publicly labeled him “the most abusive customer” his servers have encountered in 25 years.
“How is everyone? Did everyone have a good week off? Corden began, before joking that he was “completely off” from the news and social media while he was away. “I wish that was the case,” he added, before discussing the matter. “As some of you may have seen, last week there were stories about me being banned from a restaurant.” He said he considered posting about it on social media but instead adopted a “British attitude” of “never complain, never explain.”
“But when my dad pointed it out to me on Saturday, he said, ‘Son, you complained, so you might need an explanation,’ he continued. “Look, when you make a mistake, you have to take responsibility.” So, with that in mind, he began to try to explain what happened in Balthazar.
Corden says he’s been having breakfast recently at what he describes as one of his “favorite” restaurants. “I love the food, the vibe and the service,” he said. “If I lived in New York, I would go every day, provided they would let me in.”
He then went on to explain that his wife, who was at the table, had a “severe food allergy” and had been brought in to something she was allergic to. (According to McNally, it was a yolk omelet with a hint of egg white.) Corden added. “And that’s a comment that I deeply regret.”
But as he continued, Corden started to sound a bit defensive. “But this is the truth of it,” he said. “Because I didn’t scream or scream, I didn’t jump out of my seat. I didn’t name anyone or use offensive language, I went around thinking I didn’t do anything wrong. But the truth is I have. I made a rude comment and it was wrong. That’s an unnecessary comment. It is ungrateful to the server. “
Finally, after sharing some of his best-meaning tweets about him over the past week, Corden concluded: “I get it. I completely understand people are upset and I accept everyone’s opinion. I also hate, as I told the owner that day, that I have ever upset anyone. That was never my intention.”
After Corden “deeply apologized” to McNally, forgiven by him, the host persistent Times reporter Dave Itzkoff that he hasn’t “done anything wrong, on any level.” That assertion prompted McNally to retort, “If a supremely talented actor wants to regain the respect he had from all his fans (all four of them) before this incident, he’s at least I should admit I did wrong”, even promise him 10 years free meals if he directly apologizes to his employees.
So he ended his serious monologue by saying that he hopes to be allowed to return to the restaurant next time he visits New York so he can personally apologize to the staff, “it was which I absolutely would do.”
For more, listen and subscribe Last Laugh Podcast.
