Crisis Management Expert Says James Corden Must Get Real To Save Reputation After Restaurant Fiasco - Exclusive
James Corden is no stranger to public apologies. The host of "The Late Late Show" has a bad reputation for his real-life behavior, and has had to apologize to BTS stans and walk back his distasteful jokes regarding Harvey Weinstein. And the latest reports of his behavior have set the internet ablaze with more disdain for the celebrity.
On October 17, Keith McNally posted a blurry image of Corden on his Instagram and shared a lengthy explanation why Corden was banned from his popular restaurant, Balthazar. The restaurant owner wrote that Corden may be a talented comedian, but was "a tiny cretin of a man." He then detailed the "most abusive" behavior he'd ever seen at his establishments in 25 years displayed by the late night host.
McNally included two different examples that showed just how bad Corden was while dining at Balthazar. One claimed that in June, Corden demanded free drinks after finding a hair in his food. The second noted that while the "Into The Woods" actor was at brunch on October 9, he complained that his wife's egg yolk had a little bit of egg white in it. When the kitchen sent it back out with the wrong side, Corden yelled at staff that they "can't do [their] job!" The staff member in charge of smoothing things over with Corden "was very shaken." Corden has yet to acknowledge any of this publicly according to BuzzFeed News, but it might not matter if he does anyway.
Crisis management expert says Corden's redemption is no quick fix
Within the same day that Keith McNally posted his original gripes with James Corden, he posted a follow up. McNally let his followers know that Corden called and "apologized profusely" to the restaurant owner. "Having f***ed up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances," McNally wrote. But he couldn't let Corden off easy, and joked he'd only unban him if Corden let McNally host "The Late Late Show" for nine months. In all earnestness, McNally said that "anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn't deserve to be banned from anywhere." So with that, Corden was no longer barred from the well-known NYC restaurant.
As stated before, this restaurant fiasco is just the most recent one of Corden's many mess-ups. Because of his soured celebrity, a quick call to McNally isn't going to fix things for Corden, according to crisis management expert Eden Gillott. "Corden is currently facing the pile on effect for his reported bad table manners. A single grand gesture won't rehab an image," she told Nicki Swift. On her crisis agency's website, Gillott is a self-described "Dumpster Fire Fixer," as well as a strategic communications consultant, so she clearly has a handle on public image. "A sincere apology and truly changed behavior is the only path forward. Your believability and the apology's impact loses its effectiveness if it becomes a please-forgive-me tour," she said.