Conan O’Brien once ‘fired’ crew member for being ‘rude’ to a waiter amid James Corden scandal

Conan O’Brien once gave a late night show crew member the ax after witnessing the man being “impatience and rude” to a restaurant server.

The incident was alleged in a tweet published Tuesday by former CONAN staff writer Todd Levin as an example of the beloved talk show host’s true nobility.

It also served as a subtle dig at late night personality James Corden, who was recently accused of being the most “abusive customer EVER” by New York’s Balthazar restaurant.

“A CONAN crew member was fired because Conan witnessed him being impatient and rude to a waiter at a restaurant,” Levin began.

He closed the tweet with a joke: “I remember that now, for no particular reason.”

O’Brien began his late night stint with Late Night With Conan O’Brien from 1993 to 2009 and was at the helm of The Tonight Show for an eight-month period between 2009-10.

O’Brien’s standalone TBS talk show CONAN premiered in 2010 and ended in 2021.

Levin served as a writer during O’Brien’s Tonight Show days, as well as during CONAN’s eleven-year run.

Corden’s alleged “abusive” behavior at Balthazar was brought to light earlier this week by the restaurant’s owner, Keith McNally, in a series of fiery Instagram posts.

McNally banned Balthazar’s star in SoHo, Manhattan, for his alleged treatment of servers, calling him “the most abusive customer since the restaurant opened 25 years ago.”

The restaurateur shared two reports from his executives accusing Corden, who earns $36 million a year as a host of the Late Late Show, of being “extremely mean” to the staff.

The first incident in June reportedly came after the comedian found a hair in his meal. According to the staff, who were “extremely apologetic,” the star is said to have stated, “Give us another round of drinks this second. And also take care of all our drinks so far. This way I [won’t] write nasty reviews in scream or something like that.’

Mr McNally said there were more problems nine days ago when he came to brunch with his wife Julia Carey, but complained about “a little protein” in her egg yolk omelet.

He then reportedly started “screaming like crazy” when they made a new one, but served it with fries instead of a salad.

The post claims that Corden told the server, “You can’t do your job! You can’t do your job! Maybe I should go to the kitchen and make the omelette myself.” The couple received a free glass of champagne and an apology, but the waiter was “very shocked.”

Monday night, Mr. McNally said he’d had ’86’d Corden. Eighty-six a customer means no longer serving them, or kicking them out.

It is believed to have originated in a Greenwich Village speakeasy bar, Chumley’s, at 86 Bedford Street, which opened in secret during Prohibition in 1922 and where visitors were ‘drunk’ if they got too drunk.

“James Corden is a tremendously gifted comedian, but a tiny little guy, and the most abusive customer of my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,” wrote Mr. McNally. ‘I don’t often have a client. today I have Corden 86’d. It didn’t make me laugh.’

Mr. McNally went on to share details of “the funny man’s treatment of my staff,” adding that Corden had “behaved the same way a few years ago at my former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg.”

The message was clearly brought to Corden’s attention as Mr. McNally posted an update hours later that read, “James Corden just called me and extended his apologies.”

He stated that “all was forgiven” and said: “I screwed up more than most people and I strongly believe in second chances. So if James Corden lets me host his Late Late Show for 9 months, I will immediately revoke his ban on Balthazar.

‘No of course not. But . . . someone who is magnanimous enough to apologize to a good-for-nothing like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be exiled somewhere.”

Located at 80 Spring Street in the SoHo area of ​​Manhattan, Balthazar has become extremely popular over the past two decades. It has been frequented by a slew of A-list names, including Anna Wintour, Zoey Deutch, Sienna Miller, Jared Leto, Mary-Kate Olsen, Tom Hiddleston, and Meryl Streep – just to name a few.

It is almost impossible to get a reservation and there is often a line down the street of people hoping to get a table.

The fire extinguisher’s owner is loved by many stars who dine there – but also has a reputation for using social media to name and shame those who misbehave.

Mr. McNally, 71, claims Corden also behaved the same way several times at his former restaurant, Cafe Luxembourg, leaving a server “shaken.”