James Corden retracted his apology to a restaurant owner who accused him of being rude to servers earlier in October, and the owner immediately hit back, challenging Corden to “come clean” and apologize again, according to TMZ.
Corden walked back his apology to Keith McNally, the Balthazar restaurant owner who accused him of being rude to his staff. “I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level. So why would I ever cancel this,” Corden told The New York Times (NYT) Thursday, referencing his interview with the outlet, which had been scheduled prior to McNally’s allegations.
“I was there. I get it. I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly,” Corden told the outlet.
McNally responded by upping the ante, according to TMZ.
“If the supremely talented actor wants to retrieve the respect he had from all his fans (all 4 of them) before this incident, then he should at least admit he did wrong,” McNally told the outlet. “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.”
James Corden Takes Back Apology to NYC Restaurant Owner of Balthazar https://t.co/9j2pboiido
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 21, 2022
“I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication,” Corden continued in his conversation with the NYT.
During the interview, which took place in the Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges, a woman at a nearby table also apparently complained to a server about her meal.
“Happens every day,” Corden told the reporter after overhearing the customer’s complaint. “It’s happening in 55,000 restaurants as we speak. Can you imagine now, if we just blasted her on Twitter? Would that be fair? This is my point. It’s insane.” (RELATED: Tyler Perry Fired His Accountants After Discovering The IRS Owed Him $9 Million)
James Corden breaks silence, says Balthazar restaurant drama is ‘beneath’ him https://t.co/kvWVpayU9C pic.twitter.com/PDf1kwq60C
— New York Post (@nypost) October 21, 2022
McNally disagreed with Corden’s claims of innocence, and continued to challenge him to rectify things with the servers he allegedly insulted, according to a statement to TMZ.
“STORM IN A RESTAURANT TEACUP. I’ve no wish to kick a man when he’s down. Especially one who’s worth $100 million, but when James Corden said in yesterday’s NY Times that he hadn’t done ‘anything wrong, on any level,’ was he joking? Or was he denying being abusive to my servers?” McNally said, according to the outlet.
“I wish James Corden would live up to his Almighty initials and come clean,” McNally said, according to TMZ.