Jay Leno Weighs in on James Corden's NYC Restaurant Drama: 'It Just Made Me Laugh'
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Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno is sounding off on James Corden's recent restaurant drama.
Corden faced backlash after New York City restaurant owner Keith McNally said he was "the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago."
"It just made me laugh,' Leno, 72, tells PEOPLE at WeSPARK Cancer Support Center's comedy night, which raised thousands of dollars to support families of those battling cancer in Los Angeles. "I know James. He's been wonderful to me. I never saw it, but when you're in my city, you don't see that side of people, so I have no idea."
RELATED: James Corden 'Apologized Profusely' After Being Banned from N.Y.C. Restaurant, Says Owner
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Corden took accountability for his behavior on his talk show Monday night, explaining he was protecting his wife, Julia Carey, who has certain food allergies.
"Last week, there were stories about me being banned from a restaurant. And at the time I considered, you know, tweeting about it or Instagramming about it," the Late Late Show host said, noting he likes to sometimes have a "British attitude" about things: "Keep calm and carry on" and "Never complain, never explain."
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"As my dad pointed out to me on Saturday — he said, 'Son, well, you did complain, so you might need to explain.' Look, when you make a mistake, you've gotta take responsibility. So I thought I would, if it's okay, share with you what happened," said Corden.
"When everybody's meals came, my wife was given the food that she was allergic to. But she hadn't taken a bite of it or anything, no worries — we sent it back. All was good," he explained.
After the dish came out wrong several times, Corden admitted he made a "sarcastic, rude comment about cooking it myself."
"It is a comment I deeply regret. I understand the difficulties of being a server. I worked shifts at restaurants for years," he said.
Leno tells PEOPLE he agrees with Corden's decision to apologize on air.
"I am a huge believer in low self-esteem," the Jay Leno's Garage host says. "I think it is the key to success because if you don't think you're the smartest person [in the] room, you shut up and you listen and that always worked for me."
