Mario Batali pleads not guilty to indecent assault and battery charge
Celebrity chef Mario Batali is accused of forcibly kissing and groping a woman at a Boston bar in 2017; David Lee Miller reports.
Eataly has called in the check for Mario Batali.
The Italian supermarket and eatery in New York’s Flatiron district has officially severed ties with the disgraced celebrity chef, buying out his minority stake in the business, a spokesperson told the Associated Press Friday.
The ponytail wearing, croc sporting chef was one of the most prominent men brought down amid the MeToo movement in 2017 after four women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct including multiple instances of groping.
The resulting furor forced Batali to step down from his New York restaurant empire and led to the cancellation of his ABC show, “The Chew,” which he hosted for seven seasons.
“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt,” he said in an apology reported by the website Eater after the allegations first became public. “That behavior 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.”
This story originally appeared in the New York Post.