On Monday, Mario Batali became the latest in the seemingly never-ending string of men in a position of power to be accused of sexual misconduct, and since then a total of at least eight total women have come forward with stories about the celebrity chef. Batali initially confessed and apologized for his inappropriate behavior and announced that he would be stepping away from his restaurant business. Soon after, ABC made the decision to fire him from its daytime food chat show, The Chew.
Batali followed his formal apology with a newsletter sent to email subscribers late Friday to once again own up to his behavior. The apology started off well enough before taking a hard left turn.
As many of you know, this week there has been some news coverage about some of my past behavior.
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 behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility.
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. -mb
ps. in case you’re searching for a holiday-inspired breakfast, these Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls are a fan favorite.
For what it’s worth, the recipe does look pretty freaking delicious. That said, the timing seems poor. Was there no one to intervene before this got blasted out? Of all of the things to come from the Great Sexual Misconduct Reckoning of 2017, this could definitely win the award for dumbest.