New York’s most provocative restaurateur has finally told the truth about the celebrity whose identity was censored by Instagram after he offered the “crude truth” about them.
Balthazar’s Keith McNally was inundated with speculation after offering a free dinner to anyone who named the person he had selected in a post that was immediately removed for “violent or graphic content.”
Hundreds of people responded to the prospect of dinner for two at his Parisian-style brasserie, but many didn’t know where to start given his history of scathing comments about everyone from James Corden to Lauren Sanchez.
“Judging by the number of people he’s fought with, this bet has worse odds than the Euro lottery,” one wrote.
But the British-born restaurant owner surprised everyone on Tuesday night when he revealed that the person in question was actually “my good friend, writer and TV star Padma Lakshmi.”
Keith McNally was inundated with speculation after offering a free dinner to anyone who named the person he had singled out in a post that was later removed for “violent or graphic content.”
“I posted a photo of Padma that revealed one of her beautiful breasts and the Instagram authorities removed it,” he explained.
‘The post was completely in praise of Padma. (‘The harsh truth about the ultra-intelligent Padma Lakshmi’), he added.
‘Most of you automatically thought I was denigrating the person in the deleted post. But why???’
His 123,000 Instagram followers may have had in mind his torrent of abuse against Sánchez, wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whom he called “absolutely disgusting” in an April post.
“What an ugly, fucking stuck-up couple they make,” he added. ‘Is this what having $1,000 billion does to people?’
Days later, she walked back her criticism and admitted that they looked “like a million dollars” when the couple appeared at the Met Gala.
McNally went on to say that he received “strange and unfunny” comments from the wives of other billionaires, before focusing on Jessica Seinfeld.
‘The Unfunniest was from comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s wife (whom I adore): Jessica Seinfeld. Seinfeld must have been embarrassed by her comment because she quickly deleted it.
She then shared part of Jessica Seinfeld’s response, which read: ‘THIS POST IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR TWISTED, LATTEABLE, HORRIBLE MIND. LAUREN HAS TWICE THE CHARACTER THAN YOU.’
McNally revealed that her original Instagram post was actually deleted because it showed too much of Padma Lakshi’s chest, and not because it was violent or threatening.
Balthazar’s owner criticized Lauren Sanchez and her husband, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as an “ugly, f–king stuck-up couple” in an April post.
McNally went on to say that he received “strange and unfunny” comments from the wives of other billionaires, before focusing on Jessica Seinfeld.
He fell out with fellow Brit James Corden, who described him as a “hugely talented comedian but a little cretin” after the former Late Late Show host reportedly insulted his staff.
He defended Ghislane Maxwell, a collaborator of Jeffrey Epstein, and compared Woody Allen to Emmett Till, the 15-year-old black boy who was murdered in a racist lynching in Mississippi in 1955.
“This morning Instagram authorities deleted my last post because it contained ‘graphic or violent content,'” he fumed on Monday.
‘How ridiculous! I simply wrote the harsh truth about someone.
‘If anyone can guess the name of the person in my post, they will win a free dinner for two at Balthazar.
“Hint: It’s not Graydon Carter,” he added, naming the former Vanity Fair editor and restaurant owner he fell out with in 2021 after a late-canceled reservation.
“I’ve never been so disappointed to have missed a social media post,” responded one of her 123,000 Instagram followers as the speculation began to trickle in.
‘I’m so bummed I missed it! Does anyone have a snapshot to share? ‘Pretty please?’ added another.
Corden, Sanchez and Seinfeld were among the early guesses before McNally narrowed them down by revealing the person was a woman and upped his offer to include flights to New York.
Susan Sarandon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kim Kardashian and Meghan Markle were suggested along with Kate Middleton and the late Mother Teresa.
Melanie Trump? “I’m desperate for a solution right now,” one wrote.
‘Who is Hillary Clinton…the final answer!’ added another.
McNally’s Parisian-style brasserie has become a celebrity haunt despite its owner’s caustic reputation, but is now facing a crackdown after pests were found at the premises.
The restaurant owner finally cleared up the mystery on Tuesday night, revealing that “none of the thousands of comments guessed it was Padma.”
“However, I still plan to offer a free dinner for two,” he added.
‘But it will be for the person whose suggestion made me laugh the most. Therefore, she is among these four: Mother Teresa, Richard Nixon, Patricia Routledge and Taylor Mead. I will announce the winner tomorrow.
And the Indian-born actress, married to author Salman Rushdie, seemed equally baffled by McNally’s cryptic posts.
‘Oh my!!! I had no idea!’ she wrote in response.
