Four women have come forward with claims of celebrity chef Mario Batali’s alleged sexual misconduct.
Three of the four women who spoke out about Batali have worked for the American chef at some point. The fourth woman worked in the restaurant industry during Batali’s tenure. Each woman contributes abusive stories which would appear to support a behaviour pattern that spans at least two decades.
A former employee of Batali alleges that, over the course of two years, the chef repeatedly grabbed her from behind and held her tightly against his body. Another former employee claims that he allegedly groped her, with another alleging that he grabbed her breasts at a party.
Batali is a co-owner of Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, a restaurant-management services company that provides support to around 24 restaurants owned by, among others, Batali and Joe Bastianich.
In a statement to Eater, Batali mentioned that he was stepping away from the day-to-day operations of his businesses for an unspecified period of time;
“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behaviour described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.
That behaviour was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused to my peers, employees, customers, friends and family.”
Batali did not deny either allegation, saying that they “match up” with ways he has behaved in the past.
The chef has also been asked to step away from The Chew, a daytime television show he co-hosts on ABC since 2011, following the allegations.
Revered chef Anthony Bourdain, an irregular social media user, took to Twitter earlier to voice his brief opinion on matters.
It’s Batali. And it’s bad .
— Anthony Bourdain (@Bourdain) December 11, 2017
Batali has been sued for misconduct in the workplace before.
A former pastry chef at an Italian restaurant owned by Batali and Bastianich’s in Greenwich Village sued the company for discrimination — claiming that managers called him gay slurs and later conspired to fire him when he complained.
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