James Corden Defended by Celebrity Chef Over New York Restaurant Row

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone has never had a negative experience with James Corden, who was briefly banned from a New York City restaurant last week because he was allegedly abusive toward the servers. Stone said Corden has always been a “lovely guest” when he has stopped by his restaurants. The Crime Scene Kitchen judge runs two restaurants in California, Maude in Beverly Hills and Gwen in Los Angeles.

Corden has “always been an absolute gentleman in our restaurant,” Stone told TMZ at LAX Sunday. “He’s always been a lovely guest. He’s always been very kind and friendly to the staff.” Stone later called Corden a “great customer.”

Although Stone praised Corden as a polite guest, he went on to tell TMZ that he usually does not talk about guests. The Australian chef went on to say he feels it is a “little off-color” for a business owner to publicly complain about a guest’s behavior.

Balthazar owner Keith McNally took to Instagram on Oct. 17 to reveal that Corden was banned from his restaurant after two incidents in which he was allegedly rude to servers at the New York spot. Hours later, McNally lifted the ban because Corden apologized “profusely.” However, Corden told The New York Times he felt he never did anything wrong in the first place.

“I haven’t done anything wrong, on any level. So why would I ever cancel this [interview]? I was there. I get it,” Corden told the Times. “I feel so Zen about the whole thing. Because I think it’s so silly… I just think it’s beneath all of us. It’s beneath you. It’s certainly beneath your publication.”

In response to Corden’s comments, McNally defended his staff. Although he did not witness Corden being abusive to them himself, McNally said his employees have nothing to gain by lying. “I wish James Corden would live up to his Almighty initials and come clean,” McNally wrote on Oct. 21. “If the supremely talented actor wants to retrieve the respect he had from all his fans (all 4 of them) before this incident, then he should at least admit he did wrong. If he goes one step further and apologizes to the 2 servers he insulted, I’ll let him eat for free at Balthazar for the next 10 years.”

The allegations against Corden surfaced as the comedian prepares to say goodbye to CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden. In April, he told his audience that he will leave the series in the summer of 2023 after he renewed his contract for one more year.