James Corden Says It Was ‘Never My Intention’ to Upset Restaurant Staff, Vows to Apologize in Person

James Corden returned to The Late Late Show on Monday night after a week-long hiatus and started things off by addressing the allegations made against him by restaurant owner Keith McNally.

The late-night show host, 44, told viewers it was never his “intention” to upset those at the New York City restaurant Balthazar and said that, if he is allowed back to the establishment, he’d like to apologize in person.

“Last week, there were stories about me being banned from a restaurant. And at the time I considered, you know, tweeting about it or Instagramming about it,” he said at the top of his show, adding that he likes to adopt a “British attitude” about things: “Keep calm and carry on” and “Never complain, never explain.”

However, he added, “As my dad pointed out to me on Saturday — he said, ‘Son, well, you did complain, so you might need to explain.’ Look, when you make a mistake, you’ve gotta take responsibility. So I thought I would, if it’s okay, share with you what happened.”

Corden said that when he was in the Big Apple dining with friends at one of his “absolute favorite restaurants,” his wife Julia Carey was given food “she was allergic to” after explaining her food allergies.

When it came back repeatedly wrong, Corden said, “In the heat of the moment, I made a sarcastic rude comment about cooking it myself.” He added, “It is a comment I deeply regret. I understand the difficulties of being a server. I worked shifts at restaurants for years.”

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He added, “I have such respect, and I value anyone that does such a job. And the team at that restaurant are so great. That’s why I love it there.”

Corden explained that the staff brought out champagne “as an apology,” and he thought the matter was over.

“I’ve been walking around thinking that I hadn’t done anything wrong, right? But the truth is, I made a rude comment, and it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment. It was ungracious to the server,” he said.

After owner McNally posted that Corden was banned from his eatery, Corden said that he “immediately” got his phone number to address what happened.

“We had a good talk. He appreciated the call. I was happy that we got to clear the air, and I felt like we dealt with it privately, you know?” Corden said. “But by this point, the story was out there, and people were upset.”

He added, “As I said to the owner that day, that [if] I’ve ever upset anybody, ever, it was never my intention. It just wasn’t. And I love that restaurant. I love the staff there. I hope I’m allowed in again one day. So when I’m back in New York, I can go there and apologize in person, which is something I will absolutely do.”

On Oct. 17, McNally slammed Corden for his behavior while dining at Balthazar. McNally, 71, said Corden was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”

Corden first broke his silence on the matter during an interview with The New York Times on Thursday to promote his upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Mammals. He asserted that he had not “done anything wrong on any level.”

“I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly,” Corden told The Times. “I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.”

During the interview, which was conducted at another New York eatery, another customer at a nearby table sent back her eggs. Watching the situation, the comedian remarked to the NYT’s journalist: “Can you imagine now, if we just blasted her on Twitter? Would that be fair? This is my point. It’s insane,” Corden said.

McNally initially spoke out against Corden on Instagram and detailed the “funny man’s treatment” of the waitstaff during two visits to Balthazar.

“James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man,” said McNally.

Keith McNally/instagram; getty

The first account, McNally said, dates back to June, when Corden was seated at table 61 and found a hair in his food.

“Although this is diabolical, it happens Very occasionally in all restaurants,” McNally wrote.

He alleged that once Corden finished eating his main course, the “TV personality showed the hair to Balthazar manager G. who was very apologetic. 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.’ “

In another incident that allegedly occurred earlier this month, McNally accused Corden of complaining about his wife Carey’s egg yolk omelette. “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,” McNally wrote on Instagram. “M. K. informed the floor manager, G. The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it 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!'” McNally continued.

Terence Patrick/CBS via Getty

He said the server was “very apologetic and brought G. over to the table. He returned the dish, and after that, everything was fine. He gave them promo Champagne glasses to smooth things out. G. said that Corden was pleasant to him but nasty to the server.’ M.K. was very shaken, but professional that she is, continued to finish her shift.'”

Hours after McNally made his social media statement and banned Corden from the restaurant, McNally said the star issued an apology to him and he reversed the ban. But after Corden’s New York Times interview, McNally slammed him again.

“When James Corden said in yesterday’s NY Times that he hadn’t done ‘anything wrong, on any level,’ was he joking?” he wrote. “I wish James Corden would live up to his Almighty initials and come clean. If the supremely talented actor wants to retrieve the respect he had from all his fans (all 4 of them) before this incident, then he should at least admit he did wrong. If he goes one step further and apologizes to the 2 servers he insulted, I’ll let him eat for free at Balthazar for the next 10 years.”

In April, Corden revealed that he would be leaving the CBS talk show in Spring 2023. The father of three told Extra that before deciding to step down, he thought about if it was the right time for his family.

“My kids are getting older, their grandparents are getting older, and it perhaps just felt like the right time for us as a family to be freer in our decisions,” he said.