It’s official. After reviewing the sexual harassment allegations made against Mario Batali earlier this week, ABC has fired him from The Chew.
“Upon completing its review into the allegations made against Mario Batali, ABC has terminated its relationship with him and he will no longer appear on The Chew,” an ABC spokesperson said in a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday, December 14. “While we remain unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with our show, ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment and his past behavior violates our standards of conduct.”
As previously reported, Batali was accused of sexual harassment in a report by Eater published on Monday, December 11. One female chef told the publication that Batali rubbed her breasts with his bare hands at an event after she spilled wine on her shirt when someone bumped into her. Three other women, who worked for Batali, accused him of inappropriate contact.
The restaurant owner admitted that while he doesn’t know who the individuals are, the behavior in the Eater report matches how he has acted. He apologized in a statement on Monday.
“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt,” Batali said in a statement to Eater. “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.
“I have work to do to try to regain the trust of those I have hurt and disappointed,” he continued. “For this reason, I am going to step away from day-to-day operations of my businesses. We built these restaurants so that our guests could have fun and indulge, but I took that too far in my own behavior. I won’t make that mistake again. I want any place I am associated with to feel comfortable and safe for the people who work or dine there.”
ABC announced in a statement on Monday that the network asked the celebrity chef to “step away from The Chew while we view the allegations that have just recently come to our attention.”
The three remaining host’s of The Chew — Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall and Michael Symon — addressed the accusations made against Batali during the Tuesday, December 12, episode of the daytime cooking show: “Yesterday, allegations of past improper behavior surfaced about our own Mario Batali, and ABC asked him to step away from the show while those allegations are reviewed. We want you to know we take these matters very seriously and are committed to a safe work environment. Our commitment to our viewers remains the same — to deliver the entertaining show that you’ve come to expect.”
