Restaurateur Keith McNally finally reveals REAL reason he banned James Corden from Balthazar eatery

The owner of a top New York City restaurant has said he ‘felt like a little dictator’ after famously banning James Corden from his establishment – but confessed that he only did so because he was ‘seeking approval’ from his young staff members.

Keith McNally, who owns Balthazar in SoHo, New York City, made headlines in October 2022 when he barred the comedian for allegedly insulting one of his servers to such a degree that she ‘broke down and cried.’

Recalling the incident almost three years later, Keith, 73, also said that he became ‘intoxicated with power’ over James, 46, despite never witnessing the events unfolding for himself.

According to People, he wrote in his debut memoir, I Regret Almost Everything, about the incident.

‘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 said.

‘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.

‘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.’

Strangely though, Keith has confessed that he didn’t see the incident unfold with his own eyes and instead had posted on behalf of his staff members’ accounts.

‘For someone who’s hyperconscious of humiliation since suffering a stroke, it now seems monstrous that I didn’t consider the humiliation I was subjecting Corden to,’ he added.

‘Especially as I hadn’t personally seen the incident I so vividly described on Instagram.

‘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.’

In October, 2022, Keith banned James from his restaurant but then later reversed it after saying he had spoken to the actor on the phone.

He had told how the talk show host had been rude to his staff several times: berating them over a hair in his food and demanding free drinks during the summer.

Additionally, James had allegedly furiously reprimanded the waiters over an omelet he was unhappy with.

The first incident in June allegedly came after the comedian found a hair in his meal.

According to staff, who were ‘very apologetic,’ the star allegedly declared: ‘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.’

Keith said in October there was more trouble when he came in for brunch with his wife Julia Carey but complained about ‘a little bit of egg white’ in her egg yolk omelet.

He then allegedly began ‘yelling like crazy’ when they made a new one but served it with fries instead of a salad.

The post claimed James told 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.’

The couple received a free glass of Champagne and apologies, but the server ‘was very shaken.’

Four hours after announcing the ban to his 87,000 Instagram followers, Keith promptly reversed it, saying he had received a call from James apologizing.

In a later post, the fiery restaurateur admitted that he felt ‘really sorry’ James.

He said at the time: ‘Feeling strange about the James Corden thing. On the one hand, he was definitely abusive to my staff, on the other hand, I feel really sorry for him right now.

‘Like most cowards I want it both ways.’

He concluded: ‘F*** it, I’m going to get drunk.’

Balthazar, located at 80 Spring Street in the SoHo area of Manhattan, has become wildly popular over the last two decades.

It has been visited by a slew of A-list names including Anna Wintour, Zoey Deutch, Sienna Miller, Jared Leto, Mary-Kate Olsen, Tom Hiddleston, and Meryl Streep – to name a few.

Keith’s memoir, I Regret Almost Everything, is set for release on May 6.