Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been fired from ABC's The Chew after several women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. Eight women have accused him of inappropriate behavior including groping and making unwanted advances. On Thursday evening, ABC announced that he had been let go from the show.
"Upon completing its review into the allegations made against Mario Batali, ABC has terminated its relationship with him and he will no longer appear on The Chew," a spokesperson said in a statement, according to Entertainment Weekly. "While we remain unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with our show, ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment and his past behavior violates our standards of conduct."
Earlier this week, Batali issued a public apology to those affected by his behavior and announced that he was stepping away from his restaurants amid the allegations.
"I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt," he said in a statement to Eater. "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. 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."
Batali is the latest public figure to lose his job amid harassment and misconduct allegations after Matt Lauer was fired by NBC , Arrowverse producer Andrew Kreisberg was let go by the CW and Netflix revealed that Kevin Spacey would not be a part of House of Cards' final season.
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