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An ill-tempered New York restaurant owner who once banned James Corden for complaining about a yolk-only omelette has launched an angry tirade against the fiancée of billionaire Jeff Bezos.
British restaurateur Keith McNally, 72, shared a picture of the Amazon founder, 60, and Lauren Sánchez, 54, alongside the ugly outburst which took aim at her personal appearance.
The Balthazar owner ranted: “Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos’ New wife – Lauren Sanchez – ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING? What an ugly and F***ing SMUG – LOOKING couple they make. Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?”
While McNally refers to Sanchez as Bezos’ wife, only their engagement has been officially announced.
McNally, who owns more than a dozen restaurants, soon discovered that social media users did not share his views with many quick to defend the couple on the offensive post.
TV personality Chrissy Teigen praised Sánchez, who is known for her work as an entertainment reporter and news anchor.
She wrote: “She’s actually incredibly dynamic, accomplished and kind, and everyone who knows her would say the same.”
Chef Colin Fassnidge added: “You work in hospitality yet ……. You lack it ……..”
Journalist Stephanie Ruhle simply wrote: “No. I think she’s accomplished, kind, smart and loved.
Sánchez allegedly began a relationship with Bezos while he was still married to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott.
The pair were together until 2019 and their split led to one of the most expensive divorces in history for a reported $38.3 billion (£30.79 billion).
The split came after The National Enquirer reported Bezos and Sánchez’s then-alleged romance, when both were still married to their previous spouses.
The pair subsequently separated and by 2020 they were dating publicly before becoming engaged in 2023.
It is not the first time that the restaurant owner’s temper has reared its head – and he has repeatedly taken aim at James Corden over the years.
Taking to Instagram last year, he shared pictures of Adele’s appearance on Carpool Karaoke and simultaneously slammed her and Corden.
In the post, McNally said Adele looked like a “scary Cruella de Vil” and dubbed the segment “cringe-inducing”.
He wrote: “Corden and Adele are brilliant performers, but like many brilliant performers they’re profoundly inauthentic.
“As this carpool was part of Corden’s last Late Night Show, both he and Adele Went to Town being ‘honest’ about themselves. It was sickening.”
Corden and McNally’s previous bust-up stemed from the comedian’s visits to his Balthazar restaurant.
The comedian took umbrage with the eatery upon finding a hair in his food back in June 2022. While the manager was extremely apologetic, this allegedly didn’t placate Corden, who turned “very nasty” and proceeded to demand free drinks, according to McNally.
Despite the incident, the comedian returned to the eatery that October and this was not an uneventful visit either.
This time, he had a problem with a yolk-only omelette ordered by his wife, which he sent back for allegedly containing egg white.
He then reportedly flew off the handle after the second omelette was served with fries instead of salad and accused the staff of being unable to do their jobs.
McNally then accused him of “abusive behaviour” towards his staff and described him as a “tiny cretin of a man” as well as the worst customer he’d encountered in the restaurant’s 25-year history.
He deemed Corden’s behaviour so bad that he banned him from the restaurant.
After the story was made public, Corden apologised for his behaviour and McNally insisted that “all was forgiven” and removed the ban preventing the comedian from visiting his upmarket restaurant.
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Lauren Sánchez and Jeffrey Bezos.
