James Corden dismisses 'silly' allegations he was abusive to servers: 'I haven't done anything wrong'


Thought that James Corden restaurant drama had been put to rest? Think again.
In an interview with The New York Times, the comedian and late-night host responded to restaurateur Keith McNally's recent allegations that he was abusive to servers at his New York restaurant Balthazar.
"I haven't done anything wrong, on any level," Corden told the Times, adding, "I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it's so silly. I just think it's beneath all of us. It's beneath you. It's certainly beneath your publication."
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Earlier this week, McNally said on Instagram he had banned Corden from Balthazar for being the "most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago," citing incidents in which Corden was allegedly "nasty" to a manager and yelled "like crazy" at a server. Just hours later, McNally said Corden called him and "apologized profusely," leading him to lift the ban.
Despite this, Corden was not apologetic while speaking to the Times, calling the topic "such a silly thing to talk about" and something that only a small portion of the population is aware of.
"Should we not all be a little grown-up about this?" Corden said. "I promise you, ask around this restaurant. They don't know about this. Maybe 15 percent of people. I've been here, been walking around New York, not one person's come up to me. We're dealing in two worlds here."
These comments to the Times led McNally to slam Corden on Instagram yet again after previously saying all was forgiven. "I wish James Corden would live up to his Almighty initials and come clean," McNally wrote, adding, "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."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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