NY restaurant reverses ban on James Corden after initially calling the TV star 'a tiny cretin of a man' and accusing him of abusing staff

• The owner of Balthazar restaurant in New York has reversed a ban on TV star James Corden.
• Keith McNally had previously accused Corden of being abusive to his staff.

A New York restaurateur who banned James Corden from his establishment said he had forgiven the TV star after receiving an apology.

In an initial Instagram post, Keith McNally described Corden as a "tiny Cretin of a man" and accused him of being extremely abusive to a manager and a server at his Balthazar restaurant.

"James Corden is a Hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny Cretin of a man," he said in the post. "I don't often 86 a customer, to today I 86'd Corden. It did not make me laugh." The term 86 means to get rid of or to refuse service to someone.

McNally also said that Corden was "the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago."

However, in a follow-up Instagram post, McNally said: "James Corden just called me and apologized profusely."

He added: "Anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn't deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar."

Balthazar, which opened in SoHo in 1997, is frequented by celebrities and New York elites. The trendy Manhattan restaurant is known for serving 1,500 people per day.

Representatives for Corden and Balthazar did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

McNally has been the subject of controversy before.

In 2021, the restauranteur was called out by patrons and chefs after he shared controversial Instagram posts that appeared to support Ghislaine Maxwell.

"Let's not rush to judgment," the caption on one of McNally's Instagram posts read. "Ghislaine Maxwell is currently innocent. She must be given a fair trial. Due Process is the core of democracy