Chew on this, Mario Batali — Target is cutting ties with you.
The fallout over the sexual misconduct allegations leveled against celebrity chef Batali continued on Wednesday, with Target telling TheWrap that it is yanking Batali’s products from its stores.
“Target has removed all Mario Batali products from Target.com and is removing the remaining products from our stores,” a spokeswoman for the retail giant told TheWrap.
Earlier this week, Batali was removed from ABC’s “The Chew” after four women accused him of sexual misconduct and groping over two decades. Three of the four women were Batali employees.
Following the accusations, which were first reported by Eater, Batali also said he would step away from the day-to-day management of his Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group.
“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt,” he said in a statement to Eater. “That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused to my peers, employees, customers, friends and family.”
A petition launched earlier this week asked Target to sever ties with the celebrity chef, stating, “While Batali has agreed to step away from his businesses day-to-day, I want to call on Target CEO Brian Cornell to disavow Batali’s behavior by vowing to stop selling his cookbooks and branded products.”