News Issues

Woman Accuses Celebrity Chef Mario Batali Of Sexual Assault

Bhana Bisht

21 May 2018 06:26 IST

New Update

Mario Batali, world-famous chef and restaurateur, has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a female employee, reported CBS News. Batali is under the New York Police Department's scanner over allegations of criminal sexual misconduct.

Drugged, assaulted employee

The investigation was first reported by CBS' "60 Minutes", which aired interviews on May 20 with several former female employees of 'The Spotted Pig', a restaurant Batali invested in and frequently visited. A woman who worked for Batali accused the celebrity chef of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2005. She said she talked to the police but never filed a report.

The woman, who worked at Batali’s ritzy red sauce joint Babbo on Waverly Place, told CBS‘ “60 Minutes” that he invited her to a party at the Spotted Pig, a trendy West Village restaurant that he had a financial stake in. They interviewed her in silhouette to protect her identity.

She said the next thing she recalled was "waking up at dawn on the restaurant’s third floor, which Batali and owner Ken Friedman nicknamed the 'rape room'."

Authorities have launched a criminal investigation of the restaurateur, a New York Police Department spokesman confirmed on Sunday (May 20)

The NYPD confirms to #60Minutes that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Mario Batali. https://t.co/KIwBwHJsfQ
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 20, 2018

Accused of assaulting at least 11 women

At least 11 women have accused Batali of sexual misconduct. The “60 Minutes” story includes interviews with women sexually assaulted by Batali. Manager of 'Spotted Pig', Jamie Seet, spoke of the incident when she saw Batali inappropriately touching a woman. "60 Minutes" tweeted out some clips from the interview:

Spotted Pig manager Jamie Seet says one night in 2008 she was counting receipts and saw Mario Batali sexually touching a woman who appeared to be unconscious on the restaurant’s security camera. She and other employees stopped him. pic.twitter.com/d52C4VTbx2
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 20, 2018

“We called him the Red Menace.”--Former spotted Pig server on frequent diner Mario Batali who owns 26 restaurants. https://t.co/TeMK6yiJ7P pic.twitter.com/1k7MzLoAUQ
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 20, 2018

Sexual misconduct allegations against Batali first surfaced in December when four women accused Batali that of sexual assault. At the time, Batali acknowledged that he engaged in inappropriate behaviour and took leave from his restaurant group.