James Corden has said it was “never my intention” to upset anyone at a New York restaurant after he was called out by the owner for being “extremely nasty” to waiting staff.
The British actor and presenter awkwardly addressed the incidents during the latest episode of his US talk show The Late Late Show, and said that in its aftermath he had been “walking around thinking that I haven’t done anything wrong”.
In an Instagram post shared last week week, the restaurant’s owner Keith McNally described the Gavin & Stacey star as a “hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man. And the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”
The post prompted a strong backlash on social media, and James was briefly barred from the restaurant prior to the star calling the owner to apologise.
On Monday’s episode of The Late Late Show, James said his comments had been “in the heat of the moment” but vowed he would “apologise in person” to the staff at Balthazar.
Speaking about the claims, he said: “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.
“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.”
James said that after seeing Mr McNally’s post he had “immediately” contacted him to “tell him how upset I was”.
“(I told him) how upset I was that anybody was hurt by anything that I had done and anything that I had said and we had a good talk,” he said.
“He appreciated the call. I was happy that we got to clear the air. And I felt like we dealt with it privately… but by this point, the story was out there and more people were upset.”
After showing a series of scathing tweets to his audience, he continued: “I get it. I totally understand. I understand everybody getting upset and I accept everybody’s opinion.
“I also hate, as I said to the owner that day, that I’ve ever upset anybody ever.
“It was never my intention. It just wasn’t. 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.”
James previously told the New York Times that he did “nothing wrong” and was feeling “zen” about the mat.
During an interview, planned prior to the incident, he also suggested that any online criticism of him likely reflected only a small part of the population.
The presenter announced in April that he was stepping down as the host of The Late Late Show.
He is said to have extended his contract with CBS to present the show for one more year before finishing in the summer of 2023.