Celebrity restaurateur Keith McNally has taken aim at Lauren Sanchez in a late-night Instagram rant, branding Jeff Bezos' fiancée 'revolting.'
McNally, who famously feuded with James Corden over an omelet dispute, shared a carousel of recent pictures of Sanchez and Bezos, and proceeded to skewer the pair in a post that went up late Monday night.
'Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos' New wife - Lauren Sanchez - ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING?' he wrote.
'What an ugly and F***ing SMUG - LOOKING couple they make. Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?'
McNally's seemingly unprovoked roast comes a week after Sanchez and Bezos made several public appearances together in Washington, DC at the White House's state dinner for the Prime Minister of Japan and to present the Courage and Civility Award - an annual grant of $100million that Bezos distributes.
Keith McNally shared a carousel of pictures of Lauren Sanchez and her fiancé, Jeff Bezos, and proceeded to skewer the pair on Monday night
McNally (pictured) often posts unfiltered comments on his personal Instagram on whatever subject matter happens to be on his mind
It is not clear why McNally targeted Sanchez and Bezos specifically.
But, the future Mrs. Bezos has some high-profile defenders, including her celeb pal Chrissy Teigen, who touted Sanchez's admirable qualities.
'She's actually incredibly dynamic, accomplished and kind, and everyone who knows her would say the same,' wrote the entertainment personality and wife of John Legend.
MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle also jumped to Sanchez's defense, writing: 'No. I think she's accomplished, kind, smart and loved. Social media is fun, but this is not. It is just mean for no reason. If we all took a breath and thought about what it feels like to be mocked and teased, we'd do a lot less of it.'
Did Keith McNally go too far?
Did Keith McNally go too far?
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McNally, The owner of enduring New York City hot-spots Balthazar, Pastis, Minetta Tavern, and Morandi has previously picked several fights with well-known visitors to his restaurants.
In October of 2022, he started a weeks-long feud with then late-night host James Corden, who reportedly screamed at McNally's Balthazar staff over an all-yolk omelet his wife had attempted to order.
McNally posted a long statement to Instagram detailing Corden's alleged unpleasant encounters with the Balthazar staff and issuing a ban on Corden as a guest of his establishments.
Corden, who has on multiple occasions been pegged as difficult to work with, defended himself on-air and in a New York Times profile at the time.
He apologized, McNally reversed the ban, and things were smoothed over for a bit, but only until the restaurant boss got his hands on a copy of the London Times, in which Corden denied ever screaming at anyone.
Sanchez received support from some celebrity allies including Chrissy Teigen and MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle
Late Monday night, that subject happened to be Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
The pair got engaged nearly a year ago after close to five years together
Sanchez, who is involved in a plethora of causes in her tony Beverly Hills circles, often opts for a more revealing look and shares glances into her wardrobe with her more than 400,000 Instagram followers - she is pictured here in the outfit she wore to a state dinner for the Japanese Prime Minister last week
'I don't want to over-egg the pudding, but in Friday's London Times Corden flip-flopped and told a massive lie AGAIN:' wrote McNally after the dispute had been settled for the first time.
'"I never screamed at anyone, I didn’t shout, didn’t call anyone a name or swear or use derogatory language … How is it remotely a thing? When that person who posted the story wasn’t even there," (said Corden)
'On second viewing, I found his TV "confessional" contrived and phony. The actor will say anything to save his bacon.
'In the scheme of things my opinion means nothing, but after Friday's interview and a second look at his fraudulent confessional, I've given up on James Corden. For Good,' wrote the successful hospitality boss.
Over the years, McNally has proven himself to be a lightning rod for controversy with Instagram posts that frequently enflame the discourse.
He has, since he joined the platform, been a periodically staunch defender of Woody Allen, who has been plagued for decades by his decision to become romantically involved with his stepdaughter Soon-Yi Previn, with whom he remains to this day.
Allen was later accused of sexually assaulting his daughter Dylan Farrow, whom he adopted with then-partner Mia Farrow in 1991.
He has always denied her allegations, and was never charged - though a Connecticut prosecutor said there was probable cause for a criminal case.
McNally's original October 2022 post disparaging Corden for his allegedly rude behavior at Balthazar
Corden and his wife Julie Carey (pictured) were allegedly involved with an all-yolk omelet debacle. It was reported that Corden was hyper-conscious of the composition of his wife's omelet because she is allergic to the white part of eggs
McNally is the owner of enduring New York City hot-spots Balthazar, Pastis, Minetta Tavern, and Morandi
He often posts to Instagram about high-profile visitors to his restaurants, as well as current events
Late last year, McNally apologized for something he wrote on Instagram in the immediate wake of the barbaric October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
'The More Utterly Repugnant The Facts, The Greater The Responsibility Becomes To Listen To The Other Side,' he wrote below a picture of the retaliatory strikes Israel was executing against the terror group.
He later seriously recanted his statement, strongly condemning Hamas and their terror activities.
'I want to make it clear: Those who continue to look away from or fail to condemn Hamas' horrific terror are not serving the cause of Palestinian freedom. They are endorsing cold blooded murder, rape, kidnapping, torture,' he wrote on October 10.
In November, exactly one month after the unprovoked invasion of Israel, he wrote: 'If those asking for better conditions for the Palestinians prefaced their request by denouncing the savagery of Hamas's October 7th attack and that the taking of civilians hostages is an act of cruel and obscene wickedness, I'd have three times as much sympathy for them.'
Renowned Restaurateur Keith McNally is known for his handful of enduringly popular restaurants in New York City and around the world. He has become, perhaps, equally well-known for his sharp-tongue and unfiltered opinions.
Lauren Sanchez - On April 15, McNally posted a seemingly unprompted incendiary rant aimed at the fiancée of the world's richest man, Jeff Bezos. In it, he brands Sanchez, who often walks red carpets and attends formal events in extremely revealing outfits, 'revolting'
James Corden - In October 2022, McNally went to war with then-late night host Corden after the British funnyman allegedly berated the Balthazar staff on two separate occasions. Corden apologized on-air for his rude behavior, but denied he'd done anything wrong to several publications, further infuriating McNally. The restaurateur banned and then unbanned Corden from Balthazar, branding him a 'cretin'
Ronan Farrow - McNally is a longtime defender of Woody Allen, who has faced accusations of child sexual abuse for many years, which have harmed his reputation in Hollywood and with the publishing house that was meant to release his memoir in 2020. Ahead of the release, Ronan Farrow - himself a successful author - said he felt he could no longer work with Hachette after it acquired the memoir. Hachette promptly dropped plans to release 'Apropos of Nothing,' and gave the rights back to the author. McNally called the 'silencing of Woody Allen' an 'abuse of power by Ronan Farrow. Hachette’s craven disavowal of Woody Allen’s memoir damages freedom of expression and signals a dangerous victory for censorship by those who shout loudest,' he wrote.
Graydon Carter - In 2021, McNally took aim at 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 this very same thing before. Once at Minetta Tavern and twice at Balthazar.'
Jean Georges' Tin Building - When it first opened several years ago, McNally of course did not hold his tongue when he had a negative thought about Jean Gerorges' restored and re-opened Tin Building in Manhattan. 'Less a food market, and more a collection of fancy restaurants ... if you're eager to go to a classy shopping mall in Orlando, save the airfare and take a cab to the Tin Building,' he wrote, adding that the project 'epitomizes the Very Worst of New York.' Three months later, he backtracked entirely after visiting the revamped food destination, writing that he had 'COMPLETELY CHANGED MY MIND ... I'm loath to admit it, but I absolutely loved the place. I should now do the Right Thing and apologize to everyone involved with the market … for being so f***ing wrong about it.'
Fay Maschler MBE - Several years back, McNally posted a rant about alleged corruption among the restaurant critics of London. Specifically, he told a story about nurturing 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, which I take 50% responsibility for, Balthazar would have closed,' noting that the rest of the English critics panned the new spot. He said 'Four of five of London restaurant critics have so much Putin-like power that the people who slave away cooking and serving the food are scared s***less to publicly find fault with them, or even talk openly about the restaurant critics' colossal power.'