According to McNally, calling Corden out (who has long denied all of the accusations) brought him a lot of clout—online and among his staff.
“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,” McNally wrote in I Regret Almost Everything. That statement, I’ll note, stands in very stark contrast to what McNally told Page Six in 2022, that he took a stand against a famous person “out of loyalty to restaurant servers everywhere.”
Further in the book, McNally divulged that when he first posted about Corden, he called McNally more than once in the hopes that he’d delete it. Are we shocked? Not at all.
“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,” McNally writes. “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.” Now, I’ll admit this is diabolical in the most delicious of ways. Who among us wouldn’t do the same if some entitled elite made one of our colleagues cry?
However, the story takes a sharp turn when McNally admits that because he never actually witnessed any of the alleged instances in which Corden acted insufferably, and he felt bad about instigating any—well-deserved—public shaming.
“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,” McNally wrote. “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 bastard probably did.) I’m just saying I didn’t see the incident I wrote about that, to some degree, jeopardized his career,” McNally added. First, jeopardized his career? Last time I checked, Corden is still gainfully employed. In fact, he literally just hosted the LA Science Awards. Second, whatever happened to trusting your staff? I don’t need to see a celebrity throw a tantrum over an omelette to know that it probably happens all the time…
Frankly, I’m peeved that McNally let Corden off the hook here, not to mention revealed himself as a boss who doesn’t back his staff until the bitter end. In fact, I’m so mad I might just go down to Balthazar and throw some au poivre sauce in McNally’s face or something.
- Oh look! Bill Belichick has finally defended his 24-year-old girlfriend from all the losers claiming he’s a victim of elder abuse. [E! News]
- Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet were courtside at the Lakers’ game doing their usual, let’s-make-everyone-around-us-uncomfortable PDA routine. [People]
- Hayden Panettiere onscreen comeback alert!!! [Us Weekly]
- No, Travis Kelce didn’t get a hair transplant. [Just Jared]
- I don’t know about you guys, but Kesha‘s new music video just kind of looks like the average weekend for me. [TMZ]
- In a new interview, Florence Pugh reminds everyone dragging her red carpet looks that she is an actor, not a runway model. [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Robert De Niro with the only correct response to the news that his daughter is trans: “I don’t know what the big deal is.” [Variety]
- Glenn Close finally saw Nicole Scherzinger in the role she originated in Sunset Boulevard. [Daily Mail]
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