Mario Batali And Spotted Pig Restaurateur Used A ‘Rape Room’ To Allegedly Grope Women
Celebrity chef and television personality Mario Batali's lousy week continues as more women step forward to reveal their uncomfortable encounters with him.
Restaurant 'Rape Room'
Days, after Batali stepped away from his role on the ABC culinary show, The Chew, and his businesses, a disturbing report has been released regarding Batali's actions at a New York restaurant called the Spotted Pig. Famed New York restaurateur Ken Friedman along with support from Batali and music mogul Jay-Z opened the restaurant in Feb. 2004. The Spotted Pig had a private area that was usually used for high profile clientele.
But it served as the location for Batali and Friedman to allegedly grope and harass women. The restaurant's former manager caught the embattled celebrity chef allegedly grope and kiss an unconscious woman. Spotted Pig employees also had terrible encounters with the Food Network personality.
"We called him the Red Menace," said longtime Spotted Pig employee Trish Nelson. "He tried to touch my breasts and told me that they were beautiful."
Nelson added that the former Iron Chef wanted to wrestle with him and wanted Nelson to sit on Batali's guest's head. Despite several employees' best intentions in putting a stop to Batali's antics, Friedman refused to change his culture. 10 women have gone on to accuse Friedman of sexual harassment while they were employed with his organization. Recently, the restaurateur has taken an indefinitely leave of absence and called his behavior "abrasive, rude, and frankly wrong."
Other Accusers Speak Out
On Dec. 11, 2017, Actress Siobhan Thompson visited morning news show CBS This Morning and shared a disturbing encounter that she had with Batali when she worked at one of his New York restaurants: Del Posto. Thompson revealed that while she was employed at Del Posto, Batali inappropriately touched her breasts. She expanded her story when Thompson tweeted on Dec. 11. "...Not only was Mario Batali very handsy, they would often serve us pasta with cut up hot dogs as family meal."
Batali also allegedly committed sexual harassment on the West Coast primarily when he was intoxicated. One woman, Holly Gunderson, stated that Batali grabbed her crotch when they attended a party at Batali's Los Angeles restaurant. Another attendee, Melanie Altarescu, reported that Batali gave her a nasty comment after she declined to make out with him in his car.
"It was super leery," said Altarescu. "It was not a joke. It was gnarly, and he seemed super-serious about it."
Disgraced Media and Political Figures
While Batali has since apologized for committing the misdeeds, he joined a high profile list of public figures that faced sexual harassment allegations. Fellow New York media personality Matt Lauer was terminated by NBC after it received a sexual harassment complaint. Sen. Al Franken will also step down from the U.S. Senate following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
