Keith McNally Claims ‘Cretin’ James Corden Was ‘Abusive’ to Restaurant Staff

Not so funny. Keith McNally shared that he banned James Corden from his Balthazar restaurant after the comedian allegedly mistreated his waitstaff on multiple occasions. 

“James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man,” McNally, 71, wrote via Instagram on Monday, October 16. “And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.” 

The London native revealed that he “86’d” — a term that typically means “no longer available” in restaurant speak — the Late Late Show With James Corden host, 44, from his establishment, noting that the alleged incident “did not make me laugh” before sharing two manager reports as “examples of the funny man’s treatment of my staff.” 

“In June, James Corden was here on table 61,” the first report claimed. “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.’”

McNally also claimed that the Into the Woods actor allegedly “behaviored [sic] similarly in my former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, a few years back.” He then shared a second incident report from his New York City eatery, where he claimed that Corden was dining with his wife, Julia Carey, earlier this month for brunch. 

In the report, McNally claimed that Corden asked for a table outside and Carey, 46, ordered an egg yolk omelet with a salad. However, the couple complained when there was “a little bit of egg white mixed with the egg yolk” before sending back the dish. 

“The kitchen remade the dish but unfortunately sent it with home fries instead of salad,” McNally wrote. “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 omelet myself!’”

The chef said that while “M.K was very apologetic and brought G. (floor manager) over to the table,” Corden allegedly continued to be “nasty” to the server — even after being given a glass of champagne to “smooth things out.” 

McNally has been vocal about “rude” celebrities over the years. In 2021, the entrepreneur took to social media to slam former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter after he made a reservation at his New York City establishment Morandi but failed to show up. 

While Carter, 73, allegedly got his assistant to call the restaurant and cancel, McNally claimed that the journalist “upset the equilibrium of the restaurant” and “cost Morandi money,” calling him a “fancy f—ker.” 

Representatives for Corden and McNally did not respond to requests for comment from Us Weekly.