A week ago, Keith McNally announced that he was banning James Corden from all of his New York restaurants, especially hotspot Balthazar. McNally explained why, posting two manager’s reports about Corden’s rude and abusive behavior towards Balthazar’s staff. Hours later, McNally rescinded the ban, saying that Corden had called him and personally apologized. Story over, right? Wrong. Days later, Corden chatted with the New York Times to promote some other project, and Corden basically said he did nothing wrong, that everyone abuses waitstaff over eggs, and he’s not going to take the story seriously. In the wake of that NYT interview, McNally banned Corden yet again. It’s also notable that Corden wasn’t on air last week with The Late Late Show. He said, in the NYT piece, that he would probably address the story when he came back on air. That’s exactly what he did:
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… 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.”
His wife is allergic to egg whites?? That’s what the whole thing was about – his wife ordered an egg yolk omelet and there was some egg white in it. Besides, McNally made it clear (initially) that it wasn’t just one incident, it was a series of rude statements and abusive behavior. Corden’s playing a little fast and loose with what he’s been accused of. It’s also funny (to me) that Corden truly refused to apologize for his behavior when he spoke to the NYT because he wanted to “perform” his apology on-camera and really “sell” it. Complete with a folksy story about his father.
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If this was a one-off it this apology might cut it. But since there are tons of stories of him out there being rude and borderline abusive to wait staff and retail sales clerks, not so much.
yeah I don’t feel like he got banned from the restaurant because he was rude to a server once.
If I were allergic to egg whites, I would probably stay away from eggs in general just to be sure? Why even risk it?
This.
Exactly. You don’t mess around with food allergies.
ESPECIALLY when out in a restaurant! Make them yourself at home. Order something else when out. Not that hard.
Besides, HOW would you know there’s any egg white in there, esp. a little bit? If you ordered whites, ok, you can *see* any yellow, but egg yolks only? You can’t see if there’s a drop of whites in it. I suppose she could’ve taken a bite and reacted, but sheesh, if she’s that allergic, don’t order it out!
god this is such a rich entitled white person move. it’s also IMPOSSIBLE to completely separate the egg white from the egg yolk. and the ACAAI (american college of allergy, asthma, immunology) specifically says to avoid all eggs if you’re allergic to egg whites…
Right? That’s what I was thinking. I don’t believe she’s allergic because of that very simple fact.
Exactly!! You don’t order anything that might have contact with the allergic substance if you have a food allergy. I defy most kitchens to get an egg yolk without ANY trace of egg white – it’s ridiculous. I don’t believe she was allergic – I think that’s another excuse. He just keeps digging the hole deeper for himself…
It is my contention that the wealthier and the more socially privileged people are, the more eager they are to cynically challenge those they regard as subordinates to oblige and cater for their irrational whims. This wasn’t about eggs. The demand was part of the Cordens’ ritual power run.
If I were a restaurant owner, I would bluntly refuse any order involving known allergies. And going to a restaurant for eggs??? It was a display of social might and personal superiority.
Exactly! I work in a kitchen, I’ve seen cooks separating yolks from whites for a recipe, and it’s tricky! I can see how a little of the white could have gotten mixed in. I too would just avoid eggs entirely if I were allergic to *part* of them.
I have friends with food allergies. It HAS TO come up when eating out, virtually every time, when you order at the very least. (And the last time I went out with one who didn’t bring it up because he thought he was at a safe restaurant, surprise, we went to the ER.) I’m very surprised that “my wife has a food allergy” didn’t come up at all during his original rant. I strongly suspect that is BS.
Exactly. He yelled at the waiter for bringing out fries instead of a salad when the omelettee was remade.
I’m allergic to Cordon’s apology.
I noticed that in all J. Corden said, he didn’t say anything about his wife having an allergic reaction to the food served. So, why the yelling and verbal abuse from him, and to a server who did not actually prepare the food? Generally, I try to give the benefit of the doubt to people in these situations but please don’t tell me how much you “respect” servers when your actions indicate that you yell at them or are rude to them for no real reason. If the allergy story is true, it doesn’t seem like the wife ate the eggs or was affected by it. Also, that “Keep calm and carry on… Never explain, never complain” really rubs me the wrong way. First, although it’s mentioned a lot in England, let’s face it, nobody really practices it. Secondly, it just reeks of entitlement because only a person with power can adopt that moto. Third, you’re not in England now, boy. You’re in the U.S. where when you f*kc up, you acknowledge it and apologize. If he wants to get paid lots of American money, then for God’s sake respect its customs.
I’m deathly allergic to fin fish. My allergist said “don’t eat shellfish either unless you prepare it at home” because the cross-contamination risk is too high. Some restaurants will eliminate other menu options for me too because of how things are cooked or stored and whether there’s a cross-contamination risk. So yeah… no way would I be eating egg yolk meals at a restaurant if having egg whites is such an issue.
That said… my blood testing shows I may be allergic to eggs. Whites & yolks. I eat them anyway all the time because I know I’ll pay for it with gastro troubles but that’s mostly it. (Though I’m getting more testing done this Friday to be sure; blood tests aren’t super accurate for allergy testing.) But if her allergy were so mild that she’s willing to risk cross-contamination, then it shouldn’t be worth yelling at staff.
Exactly – if you look up egg white allergy, every site out there says AVOID EGGS ALTOGETHER. It’s common sense, especially for something impossible to completely separate like an egg. And especially in a restaurant where you have no control and your order is given second hand through the wait staff.
Thing is…there are multiple stories about him behaving poorly in restaurants or a retail environment ….this was not an isolated incident! While it’s nice he wants to apologize – it means nothing if he doesn’t change his behavior…
When is he moving back to the UK?
Never, I hope.
He’s universally loathed on this side of the pond and his rudeness to staff goes back 15 years at least, did he or his wife have an allergy for all those things they complained about too?
I’ll tell you what he’s allergic to, politeness and kindness.
No, he is yours, take him back. His expiration date is up.
He’s very quickly exhausting all the good will he accumulated with me for his interview with Prince Harry.
Yeah, that’s gone…
*Whoopi okay gif*
I think you’ll find this person’s picture next to the definitions of “bellend” and plonker. He has no clue that his unctious pontifications to Mr and Mrs Joe American, including a folksy anecdote about his Dad, is not fooling anybody, or covering up his deeply nasty and manipulative character. To try to gaslight people in to thinking that this is the only incident that has ever been credibly reported about his life long offensive attitudes is disingenuous at best, and outright lies at worst. I suspect he oafishly thinks he has fooled us all!!!! We see you.
The threads about him on Reddit are priceless, I couldn’t stop laughing. He thinks he conned us…
I used to like James Corden but I’m done. I cannot deal with people who think it’s okay to crap on servers, cashiers and others who are just trying to do their job and make a living. He’s an insufferable jerk.
THIS.
I have been working in customer service since 2016.
First of all we talk, and if a customer is an a-hole we spread the word: no favor treatment, bare minimum help, no gift, no nothing. Polite and kind but nothing more.
I had customer screaming in my hears: “Sir/Madam I am sorry but this is not going to make progress your case”. Sometimes I even had to put them on hold “I am not going to cut the communication, but clearly you are not well right now, so I’ll put you on hold and I’ll be back in 5 minutes”. If they still scream I’ll put them on hold again, if they are civilized I talk to them.
When someone is nice we can go far and beyond and have their issue solved within minutes when it’s possible, or a few days.
Unfortunately internet and the culture “I am going to blast you on social media” has created an aggressive culture, people think more you scream, more you are rude, more you are important.
Personally I even doubt his wife is allergic, because customers 98% times lie.
But saying his wife is allergic is a nice story to legitimate his behaviour. But that is my take.
I call BS on the food allergy, for reasons I already said. If there was a legit food allergy issue, it would have come out already, at the very least while he was complaining at the restaurant. This smacks of “I made it up just now.”
Good to know that everything in this story is all about James Corden, gaslighting and milking the publicity for all he’s worth 🙄
Can’t his wife speak for herself? I don’t see why he would lose it over a simple mistake and this “apology” is still not good enough.
I didn’t know he was married until “The Prom” drama came out and I’ve never even heard a name for her.
Allergic to a component of eggs that are essentially impossible to fully separate from the rest of the egg……….orders eggs at a restaurant where they have no control of the dish. Seems reasonable.
He’s just so punchable. I hate his face.
You can’t separate eggs like he’s trying to tell us you can. He’s an idiot, but now he’s thinking WE are idiots with his story.
It’s insulting.
He only apologised as its affecting his brand and his bosses at the Late Show likely made him esp as his first ‘apology’ was terrible – this grade A pr!ck has not one ounce of humility. He’s a nasty nasty human being. Hopefully this opens the flood gates on him.
I really really can’t stand him or the way he talks – its so fake and patronising. Its like he’s acting and badly at being nice.
Yes! This screams ‘the network forced me to apologize’.
He cannot act his way out of a paperbag, and I am being generous. Methinks he doth think too much of himself.
P.S. there are plenty of horror stories from his years in London, he has always been awful.
He’s always very…MUCH…in whatever he does. Over the top.
Seconding this.
“I, a grownass man, had to be told by my daddy that I should apologize for acting like a bellend” is NOT the flex he thinks it is.
Damn right! Also, “look, here’s my parents, now don’t you feel bad about shaming me in front of them???”
I’m not buying “my wife is allergic to egg whites” nonsense. That was the worst apology I have ever heard. Someone wrote that for him. Time for James Cordon to go back to Britain, but the Brit’s don’t want him back apparently. How embarrassing.
Finally. This story had legs and the asshole realized it. He did what was convenient for his career. Period.
Nope we aren’t taking him back, no backsies
You guys took him without doing your research and due diligence
He’s yours now.
Oh no you don’t @Vera. Once he uttered the dreaded “Never explain, never complain” phrase, he reverts back to being England’s responsibility/liability. That’s from the case of “The People versus Candyman” there I’ve cited precedent. He’s yours.
This whole “allergic to egg whites drama therefore I will order eggs” is not only putting herself in danger, it’s setting the restaurant up for failure. Also it arrives at the main point; it gives him a platform to create a scene. This whole thing was a set up by him for publicity, imo.
As others have pointed out, if it was that deadly of an allergy, why would you take that risk letting other people prepare your food? Or ordering eggs in general?
I think it’s a good point that maybe this was some kind of setup for failure. Though why he’d want THIS publicity is beyond me.
I’m not all that impressed with the restaurant owner, either. Corden’s apology to him–not the people he personally yelled at & insulted–was perfectly OK until Twitter & the NYT article gave the story more legs. That’s the only reason he banned him again, more people became aware of the situation.
Oh, and Lainey has the final response from the restaurant owner. SIGH.
https://www.laineygossip.com/james-corden-apologizes-on-camera-for-behaving-badly-balthazar-restaurant-wasnt-the-worst-celebrity-apology-weve-ever-seen/71930
I don’t even know what the hell that is.
Oh good gad! I doubt I’ll ever get to NYC again, but that’s one restaurant I have no desire to go to; the owner’s such a jerk.
Even if I believe the wife’s allergy excuse I find it ironic that he has the balls to complain about anything food related given his segment where he has himself and guests daring to eat an array of foods ranging from unfamiliar on the palate to wholly unpalatable and some are just nasty.
Yes, the only solution is for him to go back to England to eat the delectable food that country is world-famous for (which is why my sister-in-law only ate Indian food when she was stationed there). Begone, James Corden.