The owner of a French brasserie restaurant in New York has admitted he "feels strange" after his social media post banning James Corden went viral.
Keith McNally, who owns the Balthazar chain, banned the comedian, 44, from eating at his restaurants after "yelling like crazy" at staff over an omelette, leaving one waiter "shaken".
Just two hours after the post was released the restaurateur lifted his ban, claiming James rang him up personally and "apologised profusely".
Taking to Instagram later on Tuesday evening, Keith admitted he was "feeling strange" as he headed out for dinner at his restaurant with his daughter.
He wrote: "With my daughter, Alice (in black) and her best friend, Margot Paisner, at Balthazar tonight.
"Feeling strange about the James Corden thing. On the one hand, he was definitely abusive to my staff, on the other hand, I feel really sorry for him right now. Like most cowards I want it both ways.
"F**k it, I’m going to get drunk."
The restaurateur, who opened the SoHo branch in 1997, called James a "gifted comedian" but a "cretin of a man" in the now viral furious Instagram post.
Keith shared two separate reports from managers of his Balthazar eateries – where one claimed he was "extremely nasty" to one waiter and "demanded" a round of drinks after finding hair in his food.
Another report claimed Corden "yelled like crazy" at a waiter after a mix-up with his wife's order, leaving the server "shaken".
In the lengthy Instagram post, Keith wrote: "James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man. And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago."
Keith added he "86'd" The Late Late Show host – which is slang for throwing someone out or refusing to serve a customer.
He explained: "I don't often 86 a customer, to today I 86'd Corden. It did not make me laugh.
"Here are two examples of the funny man's treatment of my staff. He behaviored similarly in my former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, a few years back." [sic]
The restaurant owner then shared two alleged reports filed by managers working at his eateries, recalling interactions with James.
The first read: "In June, James Corden was here on table 61. (Although this is diabolical, it happens Very occasionally in all restaurants.)
"After eating his main course, Corden 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'."
The second read: "James Corden was at Balthazar with his wife on October 9th for brunch. He asked for a table outside.
"Brunch Maitre D' Allie Wolters took the party to table 301. Mr. Corden's wife ordered an egg yolk omelette with gruyere cheese and salad.
"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.
"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!'
"M.K. 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."
Two hours after the post was released, Keith updated his followers claiming to have had a frank phone call with James, who apologised for his behaviour.
Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "James Corden just called me and apologized profusely. Having f****d up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances.
"So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for 9 months, I'll immediately rescind his ban from Balthazar. No, of course not.
"But... anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn't deserve to be banned from anyway. Especially Balthazar. So come back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Corden, Jimmy Corden. All is Forgiven. xx"
Mirror Online has contacted James' representatives for comment.
