Chef Mario Batali slammed for including recipe in sexual misconduct apology
Accusations against the 57-year-old span at least two decades
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Your support makes all the difference.Chef Mario Batali has come under fire for including a recipe for cinnamon rolls in a statement apologising for his alleged sexual misconduct.
First published by the website Eater, the allegations against the 57-year-old came from four women who accused Batali of groping them, and spanned at least two decades.
More women have since come forward.
Subsequently, the celebrity chef apologised in a statement to The Post admitting that his behaviour was “horribly wrong.”
However, the restaurateur has since issued another apology, this time via an e-mailed statement to his newsletter subscribers, and people aren’t happy.
“I have made many mistakes and I am so very sorry that I have disappointed my friends, my family, my fans and my team. My behaviour was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility,” Batali writes.
“Sharing the joys of Italian food, tradition and hospitality with all of you, each week, is an honor and privilege. Without the support of all of you — my fans — I would never have a forum in which to expound on this.”
“I will work every day to regain your respect and trust.”
After the signature, he then ended with an uncomfortable post script that has left the internet incensed.
“Ps. In case you’re searching for a holiday-inspired breakfast, these Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls are a fan favourite,” he concluded.
Understandably, the Internet responded in fury by slamming the accused chef’s response as “tone deaf” and “insulting to his victims.”
“A 30 for 30 on how Mario Batali came to the decision that posting a cinnamon roll recipe with an apology responding to sexual harassment allegations was a good idea,” New York Times culture writer Sopan Deb tweeted.
Another person wrote, “Mario Batali's apology to the people who might stop spending money on his brand including a cinnamon bun recipe was worse than tone deaf. It was insulting to his victims.”
One woman even “fixed” the e-mailed apology by crossing out the cinnamon roll recipe and replacing the word “victims’’ over those he chose to apologise to.
Batali has not denied the allegations made against him and instead referred to himself as “the personification of idiocy, a drunken and idiotic fool” in his first apology.
He also said that he does not know who the accusers are but that the behaviour described in the story “does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.”
Ever since the allegations, Batali is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of his 26 restaurants, but remains co-owner.
He is also stepped away from co-hosting “The Chew”, and ABC daytime talk show, and Food Network has put on hold its plans to re-launch “Molto Mario.”
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