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James Corden breaks silence on restaurant ban controversy
25 October 2022, 09:30 | Updated: 25 October 2022, 09:44
During Monday's 'Late Late Show,' James Corden host made a public apology for comments he made at a restaurant.
James Corden has apologised after claims he was banned from a restaurant in New York City earlier this month.
The 44-year-old returned to The Late Late Show on Monday and kicked off the show by saying sorry for ‘rude’ comments he made at Balthazar.
He told viewers it was ‘never his intention’ to upset anyone and said that, if he is allowed back he'd like to apologise to owner Keith McNally in person.
"Last week, there were stories about me being banned from a restaurant,” he said.
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"Whenever these moments come my way, I like to adopt quite a British attitude of 'Keep calm and carry on.'"
But he went on to admit that ‘when you make a mistake, you've got to take responsibility’ before explaining what happened when he attended the downtown eatery with his wife Julia Carey.
He said that Julia was served food that ‘she was allergic to’ after explaining her food allergies.
When the food came back reportedly wrong, James said that he ‘made a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself.’
"It is a comment I deeply regret," he said, continuing: "I understand the difficulties of being a server. I worked shifts at restaurants for years."
After the manager brought out champagne as an apology, the dad-of-three said he thought the issue had been resolved, but last week the restaurant's owner Keith posted about the incident on Instagram.
James went on: "Because I didn't shout or scream, I didn't get up out of my seat, I didn't call anyone names or use derogatory language, 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.”
James added that after he saw Keith’s social media post he immediately called the owner, continuing: "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? But by this point, the story was out there, and people were upset."
James went on to say that he understood why people were upset, adding: “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."
