Chef Mario Batali to 'step away' from business after harassment allegations

Mario Batali.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

In a story published Monday, four women told Eater NY that they had been sexually harassed by celebrity chef Mario Batali. Three of the women had previously worked for Batali, while the fourth was never his employee but works in the restaurant industry.

The women all described instances in which Batali touched them inappropriately; one alleged the chef "compelled her to straddle him," Eater NY wrote, while two described Batali groping their breasts. Another said Batali repeated grabbed her from behind, "like a disgusting bear hug," often while they were in close quarters in the back of a restaurant in Manhattan's West Village.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.