Keith McNally Criticizes Patti Smith’s Restaurant Behavior

Keith McNally, a prominent New York City restaurateur, alleges in his forthcoming memoir that singer Patti Smith was 'incredibly rude' to waitstaff at the One Fifth restaurant in the 1970s, sometimes reducing a waitress to tears over minor mistakes like forgetting bread. McNally describes Smith and her then-boyfriend, Robert Mapplethorpe, as difficult customers unless accompanied by art curator Sam Wagstaff, who served as a calming influence. He notes that while Mapplethorpe could be terse, he did not belittle servers. Excerpts from the memoir published by New York Magazine's Grub Street have sparked disappointment among Smith's fans, some of whom shared their own negative experiences, while others suggested Smith has mellowed with age. Smith and her representatives have not responded to the claims. This is not the first time McNally has publicly criticized celebrities for mistreating service staff.