\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFood Network star Giada De Laurentiis has recalled chef Mario Batali making inappropriate comments about her appearance in the foreword to her cookbook.<\/p>\n
The Italian chef, 54, reflected on her experience with Batali during a recent appearance on Samah Dada\u2019s YouTube show, On The Menu<\/em>. She said that when she was writing her 2005 cookbook, Everyday<\/em> Italian<\/em>, she asked the former restaurateur to write the foreword for it.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s really the main guy I\u2019d worked with, and a legend in the Italian space,\u201d she said about Batali, whom she worked with on Molto Mario<\/em> and various other Food Network projects in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt like his stamp of approval [at the time] would have been huge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, when she read what Batali wrote for the foreword, she found it extremely upsetting. <\/p>\n
\n
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Giada De Laurentiis claims Mario Batali said her \u2018success\u2019 was because of her looks (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cWhen I read it, I cried,\u201d the host of Giada in Italy<\/em> explained. \u201cBecause I realized, oh he\u2019s basically saying that I\u2019ve gotten to where I\u2019ve gotten and had this little bit of success that I had because I had big boobs. And that if he had boobs, he would even be much further.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen Dada asked if Batali \u2014 who also appeared on Food Network shows, including Iron Chef America<\/em> \u2014 really wrote that foreword, De Laurentiis said: \u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cBecause I\u2019m like a joke, right?\u201d the chef added. \u201cLike, to him, it was like a little bit of a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Laurentiis then called her editor while she \u201cwas in tears.\u201d She told them she clearly couldn\u2019t use Batali\u2019s foreword and wasn\u2019t sure what to do. <\/p>\n
\u201c[My editor] was like, \u2018We\u2019ll rewrite it, and I\u2019ll send it to him just for approval,\u201d she added. \u201cSo we did, and he said sure. So we rewrote it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foreword that De Laurentiis used in her 2005 book is very different from what Batali allegedly wrote. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt turns out that Giada is smart, Italian-speaking, and family-oriented \u2014 the three qualities my grandma hoped I\u2019d find in a girl to marry. (Too late for that.) She\u2019s also a great cook, highly knowledgeable about food, and a huge amount of fun to be around \u2014 the three qualities I\u2019d hope to find in a television partner,\u201d the foreword reads, according to Yahoo Entertainment<\/em>. <\/p>\nThe Independent<\/em> has contacted a representative for Batali for comment.<\/p>\nBatali faced multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo movement. At the time, four women said he \u201ctouched them inappropriately in a pattern of behaviour that appears to span at least two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May of 2018, 60 Minutes <\/em>reported new allegations against Batali as various municipalities opened criminal investigations into his behavior. He stepped away from his restaurant empire following the allegations, left his ABC cooking show The Chow,<\/em> and apologized for his conduct.<\/p>\n\u201cI have made many mistakes and I am so very sorry that I have disappointed my friends, my family, my fans and my team,\u201d Mr Batali wrote in an email newsletter after the first allegations were publicised. \u201cMy behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2019, he was charged with indecent assault and battery after he was accused of groping a fan, Natali Tene, while taking a selfie with her. He was found not guilty of these criminal charges in May 2022. <\/p>\n
In August 2022, Batali also settled lawsuits filed by two separate women \u2014 Tene and Alexandra Brown \u2014 who claimed the celebrity chef sexually assaulted them in Boston. Lawyers for Brown and Tene said in a statement at the time that \u201cthe matters have been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis has recalled chef Mario Batali making inappropriate comments about her appearance in the foreword to her cookbook. The Italian chef, 54, reflected on her experience with Batali during a recent appearance on Samah Dada\u2019s YouTube show, On The Menu. She said that when she was writing her 2005 cookbook, Everyday Italian, she asked the former restaurateur to write the foreword for it. \u201cHe\u2019s really the main guy I\u2019d worked with, and a legend in the Italian space,\u201d she said about Batali, whom she worked with on Molto Mario and various other Food Network projects in the early 2000s. \u201cI felt like his stamp of approval [at the time] would have been huge for me.\u201d However, when she read what Batali wrote for the foreword, she found it extremely upsetting. Giada De Laurentiis claims Mario Batali said her \u2018success\u2019 was because of her looks (Getty Images) \u201cWhen I read it, I cried,\u201d the host of Giada in Italy explained. \u201cBecause I realized, oh he\u2019s basically saying that I\u2019ve gotten to where I\u2019ve …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4658"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}