New York police have opened a criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations made against celebrity chef Mario Batali, the NYPD told TheWrap Monday.
The investigation was first reported on CBS’ newsmagazine show “60 Minutes” in a piece on Batali’s accusers. The story included interviews from four women who say Batali sexually assaulted them, including one anonymous woman who accused the chef of drugging and molesting her when she was unconscious.
The woman also says that she declined to file a police report after the incident — which she says happened while she worked for Batali in 2005 — despite requests from detectives to do so.
“They tried getting me to file a report. They tried, they tried,” she told “60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper. “But I ― you know, a young actress, no resources, no money ― I couldn’t. I― I couldn’t do it.”
Allegations against Batali first came to light in December 2017, when Eater published an expose outlining accusations made by four women that include sexual assault. Batali has denied the allegations made in the “60 Minutes” story through an attorney, but admitted to “inappropriate behavior” following the Eater story last winter, after which he took an indefinite leave from his restaurants. Batali was also dismissed from the ABC daytime cooking show “The Chew” following the story, and his products were removed from Target grocery aisles nationwide.