James Corden publicly addressed the reason he’s been making headlines for allegedly being rude to servers at New York City’s Balthazar restaurant earlier in October.
Corden dedicated a segment on “The Late Late Show” Monday to the topic of his reportedly rude behavior at Balthazar. He addressed accusations that he was a rude guest of the establishment, and attempted to clear the air by explaining the series of events he claims led up to the allegedly disrespectful exchange.
Corden first told the audience he has reconsidered his position on the matter as a result of advice from his father. “Look, when you make a mistake, you gotta take responsibility,” Corden said on the show.
He went on to describe the alleged incident at Balthazar from his own perspective.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York with some friends, and we went for breakfast at one of my absolute favorite restaurants, this place called Balthazar,” he began. “Genuinely I love it there, I love the food, the vibe, the service,” Corden said.
“My wife explained that she has a serious food allergy,” Corden said. “So when everybody’s meals came, my wife was given the food that she was allergic to.”
“As her meal came wrong to the table the third time, in the heat of the moment, I made a sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself and it is a comment I deeply regret,” Corden said. (RELATED: Daily Beast Apologizes To Delaware Repair Shop Owner Who Obtained Hunter Biden’s Laptop)
“I understand the difficulties of being a server. I worked shifts at restaurants for years, I have such respect, and I value anyone that does such a job, and the team at that restaurant are so great, that’s why I love it there,” Corden said, throwing credit to everyone who works behind the scenes at the restaurant.
Corden said the restaurant team apologized and tried to smooth things over when they realized they’d apparently made an error.
“They brought out four glasses of champagne as an apology,” Corden said, calling the restaurant manager and servers “lovely.”
Then another apology was issued along with an explanation as to why he didn’t immediately recognize the need for one.
“Here’s the truth of it — because I didn’t shout or scream, like, 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 I haven’t done anything wrong,” Corden said.
“The truth is, I have, I made a rude comment, and it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment, it was ungracious to the server,” Corden said.
Corden concluded by saying he’d like to go into Balthazar and apologize in person one day.