Keith McNally finally reveals identity of person he wrote the ‘raw truth’ about in post Instagram deleted for being ‘offensive’

By James On Jun 19, 2024

New York’s most provocative restaurateur has finally drawn attention to the celebrity whose identity was censored by Instagram after revealing the “raw truth” about them.

Balthazar’s Keith McNally was inundated with guesses after offering a free dinner to anyone who mentioned the name of the person he picked in a post that was immediately deleted due to “violent or explicit content.”

Hundreds responded to the prospect of dinner for two at his Parisian-style brasserie, but many didn’t know where to start given his history of scathing comments about everyone from James Corden to Lauren Sanchez.

“Based on the number of individuals you’ve had arguments with, this bet has worse odds than the Euro Lottery,” one wrote.

But the British-born restaurant owner shocked everyone on Tuesday night when he revealed the person in question was actually “my good friend, the writer and television star Padma Lakshmi.”

Keith McNally was inundated with guesses after offering a free dinner to anyone who mentioned the name of the person he picked in a post that was later deleted due to ‘violent or explicit content’

“I posted a photo of Padma showing one of her beautiful breasts and the Instagram authorities deleted it,” he explained.

“The post was entirely in honor of Padma. (‘The raw truth about the ultra-intelligent Padma Lakshmi’) he added.

“Most of you automatically thought I was denigrating the person in the deleted post. But why???’

His 123,000 Instagram followers may have had in mind his barrage of abuse against Sanchez, the wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whom he called “absolutely disgusting” in an April post.

“What an ugly and damned self-righteous couple they make,” he added. “Is this what having $1 trillion does to people?”

Days later, he walked back his criticism, admitting that they looked “like a million bucks” when the couple appeared at the Met Gala.

McNally went on to say that he received “unfunny and weird” comments from the wives of other billionaires before narrowing it down to Jessica Seinfeld.

“The Unfunniest was by the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld (whom I adore) – Jessica Seinfeld. Seinfeld must have been embarrassed by her comment because she quickly deleted it.”

He then shared part of Jessica Seinfeld’s response, which read: “THIS POST IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR REJECTED, MISCELLANEOUS AND HORRIBLE MIND. LAUREN HAS TWICE THE CHARACTER YOU HAVE.”

McNally revealed that his original Instagram post was actually deleted because it depicted too much of Padma Lakshi’s chest, and not because it was violent or threatening

The owner of Balthazar labeled Lauren Sanchez and her husband, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as an “ugly and damn SMUG – LOOK couple” in an April post

McNally went on to say that he received “unfunny and weird” comments from the wives of other billionaires before narrowing it down to Jessica Seinfeld

He fell out with fellow Brit James Corden, who described him as a ‘hugely gifted comedian but a little idiot of a man’ after the former Late Late Show host allegedly insulted his staff.

He defended Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislane Maxwell and compared Woody Allen to Emmett Till, the black 15-year-old murdered in a racist lynching in Mississippi in 1955.

“This morning, Instagram authorities deleted my last post because it contained ‘explicit or violent content,'” he said angrily on Monday.

‘How ridiculous! I just wrote the raw truth about someone.

‘If anyone can guess the name of the person in my message, he or she will win a free dinner for two at Balthazar.

“Clue: It’s not Graydon Carter,” he added, naming the former Vanity Fair editor and fellow restaurant owner with whom he fell out in 2021 after a late-cancelled booking.

“I’ve never been so disappointed that I’ve ever missed a social media post,” one of his 123,000 Instagram followers replied as the guesses poured in.

‘I’m so bummed I missed it! Does anyone have a snapshot to share?? Please?’ added another.

Corden, Sanchez and Seinfeld were among the early guesses before McNally narrowed it down by revealing the person was a woman, and upped his offer to include flights to New York.

Susan Sarandon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kim Kardashian and Meghan Markle were introduced along with Kate Middleton and the late Mother Teresa.

‘Melanie Trump? I’m desperate for a solution right now,” wrote one.

‘Who is Hillary Clinton… final answer!’ added another.

McNally’s Parisian-style brasserie has become a favorite celebrity hangout despite its owner’s caustic reputation, but is now facing a crackdown after vermin were found in the premises

The restaurant owner finally cleared up the mystery on Tuesday night, revealing that “not one of the thousand responses guessed it was Padma!”

“However, I still plan to offer a free dinner for two,” he added.

“But it goes to the person whose suggestion made me laugh the most. So it’s between these four: Mother Teresa, Richard Nixon, Patricia Routledge and Taylor Mead. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.’

And the Indian-born actress who is married to author Salman Rushdie appeared equally unsettled by McNally’s cryptic messages.

‘Oh my!!! I had no idea!’ she wrote in response.

Keith McNally’s Verbal Hit List

Renowned restaurateur Keith McNally is known for his handful of enduringly popular restaurants in New York City and around the world. He may have become as well known for his sharp tongue and unfiltered opinions.

Lauren Sanchez – On April 15, McNally posted an apparently unsolicited inflammatory rant aimed at the fiancée of the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos. In it, he labels Sanchez, who often walks the red carpet and attends formal events in extremely revealing outfits, “repulsive.”

James Corden – In October 2022, McNally went to war with then-late-night host Corden after the British prankster allegedly taunted the Balthazar staff twice. Corden apologized on air for his rude behavior, but denied that he had done anything wrong with several publications, which further infuriated McNally. The restorer banned and then released Corden from Balthazar, labeling him a ‘cretin’

Ronan Farrow – McNally is a longtime defender of Woody Allen, who has faced allegations of child sex abuse for years, which have damaged his reputation in Hollywood and with the publishing house that was set to release his memoir in 2020. Ahead of its release, Ronan Farrow – a successful author himself – said he felt he could no longer work with Hachette after the latter acquired the memoir. Hachette promptly dropped plans to release ‘Apropos of Nothing’ and returned the rights to the author. McNally called the “silencing of Woody Allen” an “abuse of power by Ronan Farrow.” Hachette’s cowardly rejection of Woody Allen’s memoir damages free speech and heralds a dangerous victory for the censorship of those who shout the loudest,” he wrote.

Graydon mapr – In 2021, McNally targeted Carter, the former Vanity Fair editor and founder of Air Mail, after he failed to show up for a 12-person reservation at McNally’s West Village spot Morandi. ‘That fancy F***er will never be allowed to make a reservation at one of my restaurants again. Never,” he wrote, adding that Carter had “done the exact same thing before.” Once at Minetta Tavern and twice at Balthazar.’

Jean Georges’ tin building – Of course, when it first opened several years ago, McNally didn’t shut up when he had a negative thought about Jean Georges’ restored and reopened Tin Building in Manhattan. “Not so much a food market, but more of a collection of upscale restaurants… if you feel like going to a classy Orlando mall, save the plane tickets and take a cab to the Tin Building,” he wrote, adding that the project ’embodies the very worst of New York.’ Three months later, he fully returned after a visit to the revamped food destination, writing that he was “COMPLETELY CHANGED IN MIND… I hate to admit it, but I absolutely loved the place.” I have to do the right thing now and apologize to everyone involved in the market… because they are so damn wrong about it.”

Fay Maschler MBE – Several years ago, McNally posted a rant about alleged corruption among restaurant critics in London. In particular, he told a story about fostering a friendship with Fay Maschler MBE and her husband before she gave his newly opened British Balthazar a rave review. He wrote that ‘without Fay Maschler’s ‘bought’ review, for which I take half the responsibility, Balthazar would have closed down’, noting that the rest of the English critics were eyeing the new venue. He said: ‘Four out of five London restaurant critics have so much Putin-like power that the people who toil cooking and serving the food are afraid to criticize them publicly, or even talk openly about the restaurant critics. ‘colossal power.’