Woman Describes Alleged Sexual Assault by Chef Mario Batali

Not so long ago, Mario Batali was one of the most successful and famous chefs in the world.

He is now a disgraced public figure living under the cloud of some pretty serious sexual misconduct allegations, some of which he has admitted are not off-base.

In a segment on Sunday night’s “60 Minutes,” a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Batali came forward to tell her story.

Remaining anonymous for the interview, the woman said she was assaulted in a New York City restaurant called The Spotted Pig in 2005, in a third-floor space she claims some people referred to as the “rape room.”

“It gets completely foggy for me. And this is — part of the messy, scary part for me, there is a part where it — it all disappears,” said the woman. “I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up — in a toilet. And that is all.”

She said she woke up next to broken bottles and with scratches on her legs.

“I woke up by myself on the floor, I don’t know where I am, [in] an empty room, [on a] wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, ‘I’ve been drugged.’ That was the first thing I thought is, ‘I’ve been — I’ve been assaulted,'” she said.

The woman later called a crisis hotline, went through an examination at a hospital, and even spoke to the police.

“They tried getting me to file a report. They tried, they tried. But I — you know, a young actress, no resources, no money. I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it,” she said.

Batali was previously accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.

In a statement responding to the previous allegations, the chef said, “The behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.”

Related: Chef Seems More Concerned with Cinnamon Rolls Than Misconduct Allegations

“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted. That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses,” he added.

Batali also made sure to include a cinnamon roll recipe in his public statement.

He is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations at his companies and he was dropped from ABC’s “The Chew.”

Batali did deny to CBS ever assaulting the woman who came forward on “60 Minutes.” But the NYPD is reportedly taking the matter very seriously — and is investigating the claims following the segment.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.