The 61-year-old ‘Afterlife’ creator poked fun at ‘The Late Late Show’ host, 44, after Balthazar owner Keith McNally revealed online he had barred the actor for being abusive to staff in two incidents. Video / AP
Comedian Ricky Gervais has dredged up his feud with James Corden amid the talk show host’s drama with New York City eatery Balthazar.
Gervais this week re-aired a few of his previous public digs at Corden after the Cats actor was banned from the Manhattan restaurant by its owner for “abusive” behaviour.
Corden made headlines this week after Balthazar owner Keith McNally revealed he’d banned him in a lengthy Instagram post, saying the chat show host was “no longer welcome” after being rude to his staff on several occasions.
But while the ban has now been lifted after Corden “profusely” apologised, Gervais couldn’t resist a cheeky swipe, retweeting a clip from his Netflix series Afterlife in which his character rolls his eyes at the idea of Corden being a dream dinner party guest.
In the clip, Ricky’s character Tony is chatting to his colleague Kath (played by Diane Morgan), who is discussing who she would choose to attend her dream dinner party.
The original poster tweeted the clip with the caption: “James f***ing Corden @afterlife. Worst. Dinner party. Ever.”
But Gervais didn’t stop there.
After retweeting the post, he also re-shared a snippet from his famous Oscars 2020 opening monologue in which he said of Corden to rapturous laughter: “The world got to see James Corden as a fat p**sy. He was also in the movie Cats, but no one saw that.”
James Corden made headlines this week after Balthazar owner Keith McNally revealed he’d banned him.
It comes after Balthazar owner Keith McNally called Corden a “tiny cretin of a man” in an Instagram post, alleging that the British actor and talk show host verbally abused restaurant staff and made a fuss about the food he was served, Fox News reports.
“[He’s] the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago,” McNally wrote. “I don’t often 86 a customer, [but] today I 86′d Corden. It did not make me laugh.”
The term “86″ is culinary slang that refers to nixing unavailable menu items or, in this case, customers who are no longer welcome.
The comedian, who is exiting The Late Late Show in 2023, called McNally later that day and apologised “profusely”, which prompted the restaurateur to lift the ban.
Gervais has a history of roasting Corden, with long-running rumours of a feud between the pair.
In 2020, an industry source told The Sun: “Their spat began years ago, and started off as harmless banter.
“They were often pitted against each other, two up-and-coming British stars who were trying to make it in America.
“James started out mocking Ricky, his character David Brent and his movie career in sketches with Matt Horne, and Ricky retaliated, but the clash has now taken on a life of its own.”
Ricky Gervais retweeted a clip from his Netflix series Afterlife in which his character rolls his eyes at the idea of James Corden being a dream dinner party guest. Photo / Netflix
While Gervais seems to be leading the feud if his latest tweets are anything to go by, he has taken a few good swipes at Corden in the past too.
In 2017, Gervais condemned an off-colour joke Corden made about Harvey Weinstein.
“It’s a beautiful night here in LA,” Corden had said while hosting a black tie charity event.
“So beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked tonight up to his hotel to give him a massage.”
In footage of the moment, loud groans can be heard from the audience.
“I don’t know whether that groan was that you liked that joke or you don’t like that joke. If you don’t like that joke you should probably leave now,” Corden added.
James Corden and his wife Julia Carey visited New York restaurant Balthazar. Photo / Getty Images
Responding to the awkward bit, Gervais told Andy Cohen: “When you do a contentious joke or talk about a taboo subject, it’s got to be a great joke.
“You can’t just bounce out there and do jokes about abuse and rape and it’s fine just to joke about it. You’ve got to be very intelligent when you do it. You’ve got to make sure your target is clear, you’ve got to come down on the right side, there’s got to be a point to it.
“He bounced out and didn’t do it particularly right, it wasn’t clear who he was going for and he did it like it was light entertainment …
“He didn’t do it well enough. That was his problem. You’ve got to make your jokes bulletproof,” he said.
