British expats Keith McNally, owner of Balthazar and many other NYC dining hotspots, and actor/comedian James Corden got into some searing beef in October 2022: McNally called out Corden for at least two instances of Corden being rude/abusive to Balthazar waitstaff — one of which had something to do with there being egg whites in his wife’s yolks-only omelette — and banned Corden from the restaurant henceforth; Corden privately contacted McNally to apologize and the ban was lifted; Corden then said “I haven’t done anything wrong” in a NY Times interview, prompting McNally to reinstate the ban; Corden returned to hosting The Late Late Show and publicly apologized to Balthazar waitstaff; no change in the ban. And all that happened in the span of a week! Cut to May 2025 and McNally has written a memoir, I Regret Almost Everything (10/10 on the title, a close second to actress Kaye Ballard’s How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years), and McNally is spilling more piping hot tea about what went down that fateful week in October:
Restaurateur Keith McNally brags in his new memoir that James Corden begged him to take down a scathing social media post that called out the TV host for being rude to his staff.
“Corden called me four times the day the post came out, each time asking me to please delete it. On the last call he sounded desperate,” the Balthazar owner, 73, writes in “I Regret Almost Everything,” according to an audiobook obtained by People on Thursday.
“Relishing my hold over someone so famous, I told him I wouldn’t delete it. Like a little dictator, I was intoxicated with the power I’d received.”
In October 2022, McNally alleged via Instagram that Corden, now 46, was “the most abusive customer” to his Balthazar servers “since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”
He further claimed he had to “86” — which means ban — the comedian from all of his establishments due to his “treatment” of staff at the iconic French brasserie as well as Cafe Luxembourg.
Corden later insisted to the New York Times that he had done “nothing wrong,” adding, “I feel so zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly. I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.”
McNally then blasted the former “Late Late Show” host for “lying” in an additional Instagram post.
“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?” he wrote at the time. “Or was he denying being abusive to my servers?’”
…McNally now admits in his new book that he fanned the flames of the feud for clout.
“By exposing Corden’s abuse, it appeared as though I was defending a principle, when all I was doing was seeking the approval of my young Balthazar staff,” he writes.
The very outspoken Pastis owner goes on to admit it seems “monstrous” that he did not consider the “humiliation” he was subjecting Corden to, adding, “Especially as I hadn’t personally seen the incident I so vividly described on Instagram.”
McNally points out, however, “I’m not suggesting Corden didn’t deserve the backlash from my post. (The b—— probably did.) I’m just saying I didn’t see the incident I wrote about that, to some degree, jeopardized his career.”
What is happening here?! You know what, don’t tell me, cause whatever it is, I’m LOVING it. I thought it was pretty universally understood that McNally came out the winner in the Balthazar Wars, for sticking up for his staff and not tolerating entitled, crappy behavior from a celebrity. So… why is McNally now issuing an apology? Albeit a sorry, not sorry, somewhat backhanded apology, for sure. What with the way he A) reminds everyone of the incident, B) dishes the new juicy tidbit of Corden repeatedly calling in escalating levels of panic to have the post removed, and C) claims his own actions “jeopardized” Corden’s career. That kind of comment can be delivered so many different ways! Which is why the only logical step forward is to see and hear both men live, to get a better sense of intent. I propose having a book release slash Corden-is-no-longer-banned party, held at Balthazar, of course, and instigated moderated by Andy Cohen, with devilled egg yolks on the menu. Men get into such dramatic catfights!
photos credit: James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon, Avalon.red and via Instagram
