The restaurateur who called out James Corden for abusing wait staff in his New York City eatery said he’s forgiven the late night host after he called and “apologized profusely.”
“Having fucked up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances,” Keith McNally, owner of the popular French restaurant Balthazar and several other high-profile restaurants, posted on Instagram late Monday night.
“Anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere,” he added. “Especially Balthazar. So Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is Forgiven.”
A representative for Corden did not respond to requests for comment.
Earlier on Monday, McNally said he’d banned the “Late Late Show” host from his establishment and described two incidents where Corden was rude to staff. McNally said Corden had been “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”
Corden has not publicly addressed the incident.
McNally, who also owns Pastis and Minetta Tavern in Manhattan, has had an eccentric and at-times problematic social media presence since joining Instagram in 2020, according to Eater. He has been a vocal defender of Woody Allen, the director accused of child sexual abuse. And last year, he lashed out at former Vanity Fair editor-in- chief Graydon Carter after the media exec failed to show up for a lunch reservation. McNally said Carter would “never be allowed to make a reservation at one of my restaurants again.”
