Batali on leave from ‘The Chew’ amid sexual allegations
Celebrity chef Mario Batali is stepping away from the TV show “The Chew” and the day-to-day operations of his businesses after a report detailed sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women spanning at least two decades.
Batali did not deny the allegations against him, saying in a statement Monday that “although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.”
“That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses,” he said. “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.”
In an investigation published Monday by food website Eater, four women — three of whom had worked for Batali in some capacity — said he touched them inappropriately.
According to the Eater piece, a woman who worked for Batali in the late 1990s told Eater he came up behind her in the dining room, “put his hand on half of my butt and he squeezed it.” Another former Batali employee said he repeatedly grabbed her from behind and held her tight against his body.
Batali gained mainstream recognition with the 1997 debut of his TV show “Molto Mario” on Food Network. He has co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show “The Chew” since it launched in 2011.