James Corden claims he quit The Late Late Show for his kids and brands the Egggate scandal ‘so odd’
‘I had this sudden revelation!’ James Corden claims he quit The Late Late Show for his kids as he brands ‘surreal’ Egggate scandal ‘so odd’ and insists he’s stopped reading about himself
He and his family are preparing to leave Los Angeles to return to his native UK, with the move following a huge backlash after he was accused of abusing staff at Balthazar.
And in a new interview, James Corden, 44, has claimed he quit The Late Late Show for his kids as he branded the ‘surreal’ Egggate scandal ‘so odd’ and insisted that he’s stopped reading about himself.
The TV host – who shares son Max, 11, as well as daughters Carey, eight, and Charlotte, four, with his TV producer wife Julia, 46 – recalled having to cancel a family vacation, which ended up being the final straw.
Why? James Corden, 44, has claimed he quit The Late Late Show for his kids
James spoke fondly to The Times of his childhood, revealing that not wanting to miss those precious years with his own children, was the reason he quit The Late Late Show.
He explained: ‘We had to cancel last year’s summer holiday [because of work clashes] and when I told Max, he looked so sad, and I had this sudden revelation of the maths: we’ve only got six more summers with the kids, before they start wanting to go off with their mates. Six if we’re lucky. I knew I just couldn’t do that again. So that’s why I quit.’
The new interview came as the comedian’s reputation took a hit, after he was dubbed ‘a tiny cretin of a man’ by Keith McNally – the British owner of upscale New York restaurant Balthazar.
In a series of scathing social media posts, McNally claimed the comedian berated servers on two separate occasions and said he planned to ’86’ – ban – Corden from his restaurant.
‘So odd!’ The TV host branded the ‘surreal’ Egggate scandal ‘so odd’ after he was accused of abusing staff at Balthazar (Pictured with wife Julia, 46, in London in 2018)
Enough is enough: Keith McNally – the British owner of New York eatery Balthazar, described Corden’s alleged blowups, while also claiming he behaved similarly at his previous restaurant
According to McNally, one of James’ rants came after he found a hair in his meal leading him to demand free rounds of drinks and threaten to post nasty reviews on Yelp.
On the second occasion, the British actor blew up when his wife Julia was served an egg yolk omelet that also contained a trace of egg white – which the comedian later claimed she was allergic to.
Corden then phoned McNally to apologize for his behavior but reignited the row via an interview with the New York Times, in which he said the drama was ‘beneath me’ and denied doing anything wrong.
He also complained about the backlash, telling the newspaper: ‘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.’
Family: James shares son Max, 11, as well as daughters Carey, eight, and Charlotte, four, with his TV producer wife Julia (Pictured together in September 2021)
Quality time: James spoke fondly of his childhood, revealing that not wanting to miss those precious years with his own children, was the reason he quit the show (Pictured in 2015)
The interview then sparked a response from McNally who demanded Corden apologize to the servers he abused.
Addressing what has been dubbed ‘Eggate’, James texted The Times’ journalist, writing: ‘It’s been the most surreal moment. I mean, it’s so odd.
‘I never screamed at anyone, I didn’t shout, didn’t call anyone a name or swear or use derogatory language… How is it remotely a thing? And that be OK?’
The actor bemoaned that Egggate is now ‘fact’ despite the person who posted the story not being present during the alleged incident.
TV personality James also insisted to the publication that he doesn’t read anything about himself online, whether social media or news articles.
He said of the many ‘bad stories’ circulating about him: ‘I’ve just stopped reading it. I just won’t do it. I don’t google myself, I don’t read anything about myself.’
James recalled Keira Knightley discussing the negative things which people would write about her, and admitted it became easier when she realised: ‘Oh. I don’t have to read this. It’s nothing to do with me. I’ll just concentrate on the work.’
Switched off: James insisted that he’s stopped reading about himself (Pictured with actress Ruth Jones as Nessa in Gavin and Stacey)