Conan O’Brien fired crew member for being ‘rude’ to waiter, former staffer claims

Fellow late night host Corden has been accused of ‘yelling’ at staff at New York restaurant Balthazar

Conan O’Brien once fired a member of staff for being “impatient and rude” to a waiter in a restaurant, a former employee has claimed.

On Tuesday (18 October), many social media user shared their anecdotes of celebrities treating catering staff poorly, after allegations were made against late-night host James Corden by the owner of New York restaurant Balthazar.

Corden was banned from Balthazar by Keith McNally for his alleged treatment of restaurant staff, although his ban was later rescinded. McNally claimed that Corden had called him to “apologise profusely”.

Amid the row around celebrity entitlement, stand-up comedian Todd Levin, who was a writer on Conan from 2010 to 2020, shared his own story about working for a late night host.

“At CONAN there was a crew member who was fired because Conan witnessed him being impatient and rude to a server at a restaurant,” he tweeted on Tuesday night.

“Just remembering that now, for no particular reason.”

In the original post, McNally had claimed that Corden was “the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago”. He accused the comedian and actor of treating the waiting staff poorly and “yelling” at them.

Levin’s tweet (Twitter)

However, McNally later backtracked on his ban of Corden after claiming that the presenter “called him and apologised profusely”.

“Having f***ed up myself more than most people, I strongly believe in second chances,” he wrote.

“Anyone magnanimous enough to apologise to a deadbeat layabout like me (and my staff) doesn’t deserve to be banned from anywhere. Especially Balthazar.”

The Independent has approached Corden’s representatives for comment.

Corden was banned, then unbanned, from Balthazar (Getty Images for BFI)

As the Corden saga unfolded, a clip resurfaced online showing the Gavin and Stacey star being unable to name members of the crew on The Late Late Show.

Corden is leaving the late night US talk show next year.

Announcing the news of his departure in April, he said that hosting the show had “changed his life”.

“When I started this journey it was always going to be just that, a journey, an adventure,” he said.

“I never saw it as my final destination, and I never want this show to overstay its welcome. I love making it and I really think in a year from now that will be a good time to move on and see what’s out there.”