Jay Leno defends James Corden over restaurant row: “He’s been wonderful to me”

Jay Leno has spoken about James Corden’s recent ban from a New York restaurant.

The comedian was briefly banned from the Balthazar restaurant earlier this month after owner Keith McNally claimed he was “abusive” to staff.

Corden addressed the incident on The Late Late Show on Monday (October 24). “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 haven’t done anything wrong,” Corden said.

“But the truth is I have made a rude, rude comment. And it was wrong. It was an unnecessary comment, it was ungracious to the server.”

Speaking to People, Leno, former host of The Tonight Show, described Corden as “wonderful”.

“It just made me laugh,” Leno said about the restaurant drama. “I know James. He’s been wonderful to me. I never saw it, but when you’re in my city, you don’t see that side of people, so I have no idea.”

In the original post, McNally detailed an incident where Corden was “extremely nasty” to his server, alleging that he demanded a free round of drinks after he found a hair in his food.

In a separate incident, McNally claimed that Corden became abusive again after a staff member got his wife’s order wrong.

According to the owner, Corden yelled 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 omelette myself!”

The ban from the restaurant was lifted hours later, after Corden apologised for his behaviour. “James Corden just called me and apologised profusely,” McNally wrote on Instagram. “Having fucked up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances.”

Back in April, Corden announced that he will step down as host of The Late Late Show in 2023 after eight years.

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