James Corden has clarified that his alleged behaviour at New York City restaurant Balthazar was due to his wife’s food allergy.
Earlier this month, the Late Late Show host was temporarily banned from the popular French restaurant after owner Keith McNally called Corden a “tiny cretin of a man” for his alleged “abusive” behaviour towards staff on two occasions. The most recent incident allegedly occurred this month when Corden and his wife Julia Carey ordered an egg-yolk omelette at the restaurant, but received a dish having “egg white mixed with the egg yolk”.
The TV host and actor explained on a recent episode of The Late Late Show that his alleged outburst was because his wife was given food "she was allergic to" and recounted the series of events.
“When everybody’s meals came, my wife was given the food that she was allergic to,” he said. “She hadn’t taken a bite of it or anything. No worries, we sent it back, all was good.”
“As her meal came wrong to the table the third time, in the heat of the moment, I made a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself and it is a comment I deeply regret,” he added.
Now, Corden has opened up about how “surreal” the moment was when he learned about being briefly banned from the New York City restaurant. In an interview with The Times published today (28 October), Corden was shocked by the drama because he “never screamed at anyone” or used “derogatory language” when his wife was given the wrong order.
“It’s been the most surreal moment,” he told The Times. “I mean, it’s so odd. I never screamed at anyone, I didn’t shout, didn’t call anyone a name or swear or use derogatory language…How is it remotely a thing? And that be OK? And now it’s fact, and that’s that. When that person who posted the story wasn’t even there. Just so odd.”
“And you know, the reason I had to send the omelette back is because Jules is allergic to egg white,” he added, referencing his wife Julia Carey. “That’s why we’d ordered an egg-yolk omelette. Her actual words were, ‘But don’t worry if you can’t manage it.’”
Since the Balthazar drama, Corden’s alleged behaviour has made headlines, as people discuss the TV host’s “nice guy” reputation. Although there has been a significant amount of bad press about Corden lately, the Carpool Karaoke star told The Times that he avoids reading articles about himself.
“Ah – I’ve just stopped reading it,” Corden said. “I just won’t do it. I don’t google myself, I don’t read anything about myself. I can remember when Keira Knightley was talking about the things that people used to write about her, and then she just realised, ‘Oh. I don’t have to read this. It’s nothing to do with me. I’ll just concentrate on the work.’”
This week, James Corden publicly apologised to Balthazar staff during an episode of The Late Late Show, where he admitted that “it was never [his] intention” to upset the restaurant staff. “The truth is I have made a rude, rude comment,” he told his audience on 24 October. “And it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment, it was ungracious to the server.”
The Cats star revealed that he contacted McNally “immediately” after seeing the restaurant owner’s Instagram post to “tell him how upset I was”.
“[I told him] how upset I was that anybody was hurt by anything that I had done and anything that I had said and we had a good talk,” Corden shared. “He appreciated the call. I was happy that we got to clear the air. And I felt like we dealt with it privately… But by this point, the story was out there and more people were upset.”
Corden continued: “It was never my intention. It just wasn’t. 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 apologise in person, which is something I will absolutely do.”
