James Corden, the soon-to-be former host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show,” does not joke about his yolks. The English comedian was allegedly so picky about an egg omelet that he has been blacklisted from popular New York eatery Balthazar.
Restaurateur Keith McNally announced Monday on Instagram that he has no more plans of serving the “Prom” star again after Corden was accused of speaking rudely to Balthazar staff.
“James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man,” McNally wrote on Instagram. “And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago. I don’t often 86 a customer, [but] today I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh.”
In the restaurant world, “86″ refers to food or drinks items that are no longer available, and patrons who are not welcome back to the establishment.
Representatives for Corden did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
In his post, McNally detailed two examples of “the funny man’s treatment of my staff.” The restaurateur, also known for the Big Apple’s Pastis, Schiller’s and Minetta Tavern, first pointed to alleged “extremely nasty” behavior by Corden in June.
The first manager’s report said Corden found a hair in his food and showed it to the manager, “who was very apologetic.” According to McNally’s post, the “Into the Woods” actor then demanded compensation.
“‘Get us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all of our drinks so far. This way I [won’t] write any nasty reviews in yelp or anything like that,’” the post said.
The second incident allegedly occurred earlier this month and involved the egg omelet and a side salad for Corden’s wife. McNally wrote that moments after the comedian and his wife received their food, “James called their server, M.K. and told her there was a little bit of egg white mixed with the yolk.”
The unidentified server reported the complaint to the restaurant manager and the kitchen remade the dish.
The second time around, the omelet was prepared according to Corden’s orders — but arrived with fries instead of the requested salad. According to McNally’s post, the accidental switch sent Corden over.
“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!’”
After the late-night personality’s alleged outbursts, the manager offered free glasses of Champagne to the couple to “smooth things out.”
“[The manager] said that Corden was pleasant to him but nasty to the server,” McNally added. “M.K. was very shaken, but professional that she is, continued to finish her shift.’”
In the comments section, McNally found support from followers who poked fun at and criticized Corden’s alleged behavior.
“My number 1 rule, never trust anyone who is rude to waiters or those who help you in any way,” one commenter said.
“The institution will be better off with him eating elsewhere,” another wrote.
“Can you 86 from my television too?” a third person joked.
Well, that third Instagram user can breathe easier knowing that Corden’s television presence will take a dip as he prepares to exit “The Late Late Show.” In April, Corden announced that his tenure on the CBS talk series, which began in March 2015, will come to an end in 2023.
“I never want this show to overstay its welcome in any way. I always want to love making it,” he said during an April episode. “And I really think in a year from now, that will be a good time to move on and see what else might be out there.”
