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Molto Mario Batali

FormerMod-a1

By FormerMod-a1
in The Chew [V]

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jcbrown

jcbrown

(edited)

I read the NYT piece and I am so creeped out (bullet: it is about the allegations against Ken Friedman and includes a note about a woman who saw Batali on a security camera feed groping and kissing an unconscious woman and moved to intervene). I am a lifelong feminist and a former rape crisis counselor so maybe that is why it affronts me so much when men I admired and did not suspect turn out to be creeps. So disappointed.

Edited by jcbrown
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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

Quote

Batali doesn't have much respect for others; in 2012 was successfully sued for taking his workers' credit-card tips. I can't see ABC bringing him back, so now that they're down to three hosts without the strongest one, I'm guessing they'll completely revamp the show or cancel it. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2549595/Fork-Celebrity-chef-Mario-Bataliu.html

I was reading a Twitter thread from a woman in the industry and they were talking about the prevalence of a sexual harassment culture.  Discussion moved onto discovering/exposing chefs in other cities besides NY.  The advice she gave reporters wanting to look into it is to look to chefs who have gotten into trouble for wage theft/stealing tips.  I thought it was an interesting correlation.

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Vickismom

Vickismom

23 minutes ago, ari333 said:

This makes me sad bc Mario was my favorite on the Chew. Now.... ugggg....At least he didn't deny it... like some people

This make me very sad too.  I admired Mario a lot.  He did seem a little arrogant about certain things, but for the most part it didn't bother me that much because I thought he also is very knowledge and thus could back it up.  And I admired his charity work.  I was very impressed that years ago, he challenged himself to live on the food budget of a family that gets food stamps, in order to be able to tell Congress not to cut it further.  For whatever reason, that really stuck with me and I really looked up to him for that. 

I guess I can still admire him for that, but be very disappointed and upset at his actions.  

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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

(edited)

From EW.com/Entertainment Weekly: ABC Fires Mario Batali From "The Chew" Following Investigation of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

I think they're probably gonna have to book guest hosts over the holiday break, if they're not on it already, & start auditioning at least some of them seriously in the course of that. I know they said they weren't gonna replace Daphne, & that was all good & well because they've done the show with 4 hosts before & it works.

Then people found out that Mario behaved in a less than gentlemanly way in public, though apparently fueled by alcohol (which is really still no excuse) including making inappropriate comments to, & engaging in inappropriate touching with, people he had no business saying or doing those things to. And so, ABC investigated (during which they found out similar unsavory things about a baker on another ABC show--& I think the baker has been on The Chew as a guest), then they fired Mario. And now we are 3 at the anchor table (Clinton, Carla, & Michael). The 3 of them are perfectly capable of co-hosting together (either all in the studio or 2 in the studio--I can't see any less than that, right now--& 1 in the field). But only having 2 co-hosts on this kind of show, on a permanent or indeterminate basis, isn't really gonna work in my opinion.

I don't care if they don't hire enough people to replace Daphne & Mario both & go back to a 5-person hosting team. Like I said, they can do the show with 4 hosts (& they have). But I really think it'd be in the show's, & ABC's, best interest to fill at least 1 of the now 2 open host seats & not leave the show with just 3 co-hosts on a permanent basis, since at least 1 will probably have to be away at some point, either working on a segment for the show, off sick, or taking a personal day. 

Then they'd (ABC/the showrunners) better pray Michael & Carla, & Clinton (sexual harassment/misconduct isn't strictly for straight people; I know that, & I meant to mention Clinton here when I originally wrote this) don't have any sexual misconduct incidents ready to come out & bite them--at least until they fix the current lack of hosts. When/if they hire someone new, I'd hope it'd be a female, to give Carla some female backup, if you will, & because the host table's been low on Estrogen this season. 

Edited by BW Manilowe
To mention Clinton somewhere I forgot to.
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General Days

General Days

I think they should back up the money truck and convince Daphne to come back on a temporary basis, after a reasonable maternity leave, even if it's just to stabilize things through the end of this season and/or until they find another host, should she no longer want the gig on a regular basis.

Carla, Clinton, and Michael have been doing the lion's share of the hosting for a while now. Both Batali and Oz felt like part-timers since at least the second half of last season. After Oz left, Batali still felt like  a part-timer, this season. Ugh. I'm so disappointed. I feel bad for the remaining hosts, too. 

To be clear, I'm not disappointed ABC fired Mario. I don't think I could watch him on my TV, now (and he was my favorite). I'm disappointed that he acted in a way which seems to have necessitated his firing. 

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Qoass

Qoass

I would also prefer another woman and I'd be perfectly happy with the head food stylist (Jackie?) that has popped up on a couple shows recently. Meanwhile, I think they can re-run plenty of shows aired in the past minus Mario as he was frequently absent anyway.

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General Days

General Days

I agree, Qoass. Jackie's been delightful and has a pretty good TV presence for a newbie.

I thought this had already been posted here, but I think it was just referred to in the Media thread. The NYT article -- which is primarily about Ken Friedman, owner of The Spotted Pig -- did Mario no favors. After I read it the other day, I knew I couldn't watch The Chew again, should he return. 

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General Days

General Days

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

No longer appearing on the official Chew website...

A friend said his picture has been thoroughly scrubbed from the Disney/ABC press site, too. When she did an advanced search, there was nothing, even though there are still archived pictures of Daphne. ABC's not fooling  around. 

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BW Manilowe

BW Manilowe

6 hours ago, General Days said:

I think they should back up the money truck and convince Daphne to come back on a temporary basis, after a reasonable maternity leave, even if it's just to stabilize things through the end of this season and/or until they find another host, should she no longer want the gig on a regular basis.

Carla, Clinton, and Michael have been doing the lion's share of the hosting for a while now. Both Batali and Oz felt like part-timers since at least the second half of last season. After Oz left, Batali still felt like  a part-timer, this season. Ugh. I'm so disappointed. I feel bad for the remaining hosts, too.

To be clear, I'm not disappointed ABC fired Mario. I don't think I could watch him on my TV, now (and he was my favorite). I'm disappointed that he acted in a way which seems to have necessitated his firing. 

Well, as I said, they need to do something--hopefully short of cancellation. I'd prefer they fill at least 1 of the 2 open host slots; preferably with a female (for gender balance at the host table, not because I'm female... though that's part of it). I also watch The Talk, CBS' daytime talk show clone of The View which has a host panel of 5 women. Over the last few weeks, that show had a lot of days/weeks where the number of guest hosts outnumbered the permanent hosts--sometimes 4 guests to 1 host. I don't think people will keep this show on air very long with situations like this.

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lexytheblasian

lexytheblasian

(edited)
On 12/13/2017 at 1:36 PM, bkathi said:

But I always got a creepy vibe from Mario, so not surprised.

He's definitely always gave off major "creep" vibes. A few years ago Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow did a special on PBS called "Spain...On the Road Again" and Paltrow seemed uncomfortable.

Edited by lexytheblasian
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TVFan17

TVFan17

(edited)

We will probably never know these details (unless someone leaves The Chew and releases a tell-all book many years later), but I really do wonder what each one of the remaining hosts is thinking about the Mario situation.  I mean... Carla and Clinton just got to know Mario from working with him on this show, and, presumably, he has not (thus far) been accused of harassment of anyone working on The Chew.     So, the Mario they knew and saw was probably not behaving badly.    

But... did this whole thing completely catch C&C off guard?  Did they get a bit of a warning that this news was going to break soon, so they could be prepared for it when it happened?    But did they, too, get a creepy vibe from him, even if they didn't actually witness anything?     Or was this a total shock?

From a comment Clinton made in response to someone on his Instagram page last week, it seems as though he wanted to say more -- or he at least wanted to give his own opinion on the issue, whatever that may be -- but he was told that he cannot legally say anything (other than what was said in that video that he, Michael and Carla made to address it).  He said something to the effect of "this is bigger than me."

Michael has to have some thoughts about it, being Mario's longtime friend.   Did he ever see Mario acting inappropriately to women in social situations?  Was he surprised that Mario's past deeds were coming back to haunt him now? 

I would love to know each host's opinion, and I will include Daphne in the mix too, even though she is no longer on the show.  But, alas, they will probably be bound to silence for a long time.

Edited by TVFan17
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TVFan17

TVFan17

40 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Since Carla and her husband spent some time at Mario's Michigan home this summer, I doubt she's uncomfortable with him.

This summer was not the first time she visited Mario's home.  She has been there before (either last year or in 2015).    I know they've hung out.    At that point she might not have had any idea about what he has done.

What I was saying above is that the Mario that Carla (and Clinton) knows is the one from his time on The Chew.   That's how she got to know him.  She knows the Mario of today, the Mario she has been working with and socializing with since they met on this show.    She didn't have an existing relationship with him before The Chew began, like Michael had, so she might not have been aware of any of his former antics.   Her time with Mario in Michigan has taken place during his Chew years, and he is, thus far, not accused of any specific harassment towards any Chew people. 

So that's why I wonder what they are each thinking about the Mario news.    Is Carla, for example, thinking. "Wow.  I had no idea that the Mario I know was capable of these things"?  Or is she thinking, "Yeah... Mario is a flirt and very touchy-feely.  I can see how that can get him into trouble"?  In other words, you can spend time with someone and know them to a certain degree, on a certain level, but not know about certain things they've done.  And when those things they've done come to light, does it impact the friendship?  Is there disbelief?  Disgust?

That's what I'd like to know, but I will probably never find out because the Chew people cannot legally talk about it right now.

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TVFan17

TVFan17

(edited)
22 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Mario was reprimanded for his behavior two months ago, this is not behavior that suddenly stopped when he joined The Chew.

But he has not been accused of harassing anyone on The Chew or behind the scenes at The Chew.  And if he has been, please direct me to the article where that is stated.

So, do we know that Carla knew about his separate antics (outside of The Chew) all along, or is that an assumption?

Again, my point was and is, and it is really quite simple and straightforward... I am curious as to what his (former) co-hosts think now that all of this news has come to light.     How much did they know, and when did they know?  We can't assume anything, which is why I am wondering.  No one here can answer that.  We just don't know.

Edited by TVFan17
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biakbiak

biakbiak

36 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

But he has not been accused of harassing anyone on The Chew or behind the scenes at The Chew.  And if he has been, please direct me to the article where that is stated.

So, do we know that Carla knew about his separate antics (outside of The Chew) all along, or is that an assumption?

 

I have no idea what Carla knows but a lot of this behavior actually occured in social situations with people who don't work for him and Carla has socialized with him. Hell in the book Heat about Mario he frequently made comments about women and their bodies, so I imagine Carla has in fact seen a level of this behavior but it might have appeared consenual when it wss in social situations. 

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

I think who knows depends on the contexts in which they saw Mario.  It sounds like a lot of Mario's worst behavior came out when he drank a lot whether that was at work or at industry events.

The reason I point that out is not to offer drinking as an excuse (it isn't) but because whether or not any of the hosts were aware would probably depend on whether or not they were around him in those environments.  He was probably well behaved on The Chew set.  And Carla hanging out with him on a scooter was during the day.   When Daphne & Carla visited his MI home, they were family affairs.  He was probably flirtatious/life of the party but either wouldn't try something with his family around or if he did, was sly about it. 

I could see Daphne as blindsided.  Carla might have heard something through the grapevine as a restaurant owner but I think she could have been blindsided as well. 

Michael has a lot of NY chef friends and probably hung out in similar circles so he was probably aware of it to a certain extent but it sounds like he mostly goes home after work.  I don't think he's a regular part of the after-hours NY restaurant scene because he doesn't own a restaurant there. 

I think Clinton is the most interesting.  He hangs out with Michael and I think he has hung out with Carla after hours.  But I have picked up on, what I perceive to be, boundaries between Clinton and Mario.  For instance, after this summer and last, when Mario talked of his MI home, he mentioned that Clinton was the only one who hadn't come to visit and he should come.  Clinton acknowledges that he hasn't been there, agrees when Mario says he should come and yet hasn't gone.  And honestly?  Even when he says "yes," it doesn't sound like he actually ever thinks of going.  I also don't think they ever really hung out. 

So if I were to guess about who knew, I'd guess Michael, based on his profession and FN connection, and Clinton, because of a gut feeling.   

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biakbiak

biakbiak

(edited)
33 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Michael has a lot of NY chef friends and probably hung out in similar circles so he was probably aware of it to a certain extent but it sounds like he mostly goes home after work.  I don't think he's a regular part of the after-hours NY restaurant scene because he doesn't own a restaurant there. 

Michael and Mario have both talked about their friendahip that predates The Chew or Iron Chef and how they have spent many, many drunken nights together. 

Edited by biakbiak
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imjagain

imjagain

(edited)

Did anyone watch Anthony Bourdain on the daily show last night? His wife was wife is one of the Harvey Weinstein  accusers  (I did not know that). Anyway, he talked about how horrible he felt because he  found out he knew women in his business who were victims of friends of his , and felt they could not tell him because of his friendship with the men. Went on to say no matter how much he  respected them for their work (the men) it's not alright. All could think of  was,  he was specifically talking about Mario. Just interesting. 

Edited by imjagain
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jcbrown

jcbrown

I recently watched a couple of old episodes from before the holidays that I had on TiVo. I think they were from the last week where Mario made an appearance. It was kind of sad. I used to look at him with respect for his talent, knowledge, success, philanthropy, and an appreciation for his intelligence (and for the yummy food I've had at his restaurants). Watching these episodes. I saw an overlay of the troll he was revealed to be. There is no excuse for the behavior that was reported and it is shocking in and of itself. I also find it shocking that someone would be so reckless as to blow up everything he worked for out of such a sense of entitlement and lack of respect for others.

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chessiegal

chessiegal

4 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Hes in Michigan.

Is he tweeting or on Instagram that I've missed? I follow him on both and it's been crickets (understandably).

Not defending his behavior, but what I read seemed to be alcohol fueled - maybe a whole other problem. I wish him well.

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biakbiak

biakbiak

1 minute ago, chessiegal said:

Is he tweeting or on Instagram that I've missed? I follow him on both and it's been crickets (understandably).

No randomly my bf's childhood bff was visiting us last week and he lives close to him. 

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

9 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I also find it shocking that someone would be so reckless as to blow up everything he worked for out of such a sense of entitlement and lack of respect for others.

For a long time, this wasn't high risk behavior for a man like him.  He was considered a culinary genius, he owned his own restaurants that employed many people, he owned and was the face of Eataly, he was one of the earlier celeb chefs on TV, he cultivated relationships with A-listers and this was the "culture" of restaurants. 

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jcbrown

jcbrown

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

For a long time, this wasn't high risk behavior for a man like him.  He was considered a culinary genius, he owned his own restaurants that employed many people, he owned and was the face of Eataly, he was one of the earlier celeb chefs on TV, he cultivated relationships with A-listers and this was the "culture" of restaurants. 

I totally get that. It's just that Mario was pretty vocal about his politics and put on a persona of being a good person. I recognize that's how this stuff gets perpetuated but it's just disappointing to miss it so completely as a viewer who used to really like him. I just hoped my feminist spidey sense would be more reliable, you know?

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jcbrown

jcbrown

(edited)
3 hours ago, ari333 said:

I didn't know he was vocal about politics. (Which way?) But  a lot of things went over my head.  I did enjoy his recipes. Too bad he blew his gig at the Chew.

He is quite liberal, which I appreciate. And a libertine, which I do not.

Edited by jcbrown
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jcbrown

jcbrown

On 2/9/2018 at 11:24 PM, MsJamieDornan said:

I actually miss Mario on the show. The rest have all gone a bit wild without him..

The person I miss on the show is the person I thought Mario was. I miss the role he played on the show.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

17 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

The person I miss on the show is the person I thought Mario was. I miss the role he played on the show.

I like this response. 

I don't mind the silliness.   I did miss Mario's annual Superbowl menu.

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justspiffy

justspiffy

4 hours ago, Barb1959 said:

I am reading the book "Heat" by 
Bill Buford and it has a lot of Mario B in it.  Nothing good about Mario...and this was written in 2008...I think.

 

3 hours ago, jcbrown said:

Yeah, it does seem like his proclivities were an open secret that would not have been too tough to uncover.

Thanks for reminding me about this book!  I read it many years ago - I’m going to reread it now!

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Coffeewinewater

Coffeewinewater

(edited)

It really is depressing.  Mario was a completely different person than I thought.  When the accusations came out last winter ,it was like ugh great another scummy man that's grabbing woman.  I guess it's all settled in and with the new statements, it was way more than I thought. I agree I don't know mario or was even his biggest fan but I enjoyed him on this show with these other people. Watching this show and laughing and getting to know them through this show made me feel like I kind of knew them and that they knew each other.  Carla is/was friends with is wife. She even stayed with them in Michigan.  Michael has known Mario forever. I just wonder what they all knew. Sorry for rambling. 

Edited by Coffeewinewater
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TVFan17

TVFan17

On 5/22/2018 at 4:06 PM, Coffeewinewater said:

It really is depressing.  Mario was a completely different person than I thought.  When the accusations came out last winter ,it was like ugh great another scummy man that's grabbing woman.  I guess it's all settled in and with the new statements, it was way more than I thought. I agree I don't know mario or was even his biggest fan but I enjoyed him on this show with these other people. Watching this show and laughing and getting to know them through this show made me feel like I kind of knew them and that they knew each other.  Carla is/was friends with is wife. She even stayed with them in Michigan.  Michael has known Mario forever. I just wonder what they all knew. Sorry for rambling. 

That's what I was trying to say (in some thread or another) quite a while back (and felt like my comments were being picked apart, so I gave up on the subject and moved on).   I wondered what each person knew, and when they knew it.    Michael has known Mario for a very long time.  They have probably had many occasions to socialize with each other, even before The Chew existed, both with their spouses and away from their spouses.   I think that Michael is a great guy, but he might have seen sides of Mario that were not pleasant in the old days.    He also might have thought that Mario had changed and wasn't doing those things anymore.   Or maybe he somehow never saw Mario do anything that was questionable.  Who knows? 

Of course, I don't know Carla personally, nor do I know any of them personally, but my belief is that Carla is not the sort of person who would willingly, knowingly, socialize with a man who had done these sleazy things -- IF she knew about his behavior or IF she thought it was continuing.    She became friends with him through The Chew, so it's not like they had a history predating that show.  The Mario that she got to know through the show was probably wonderful.   He was a jovial, funny family man and masterful chef, who welcomed her into his home for vacations and befriended her (and her husband), regaling her with tales of his travels and life experiences.  

I don't believe that Carla would socialize with Mario if she knew him to be the man he is now said to be.  If she knew that he had been a certain way in the past, she might have been willing to accept that he had changed and get to know him for who is is now.  But I just don't think Carla could possibly witness or hear about current/new accusations (if there were any) and continue to socialize with him.  So my guess is she either did not know anything about the Mario of the past for a long, long time, or she knew the rumors and stories, but thought that the Mario of the past had changed and was willing to give him a chance.

I just keep thinking that we are going to hear something about Mario's behavior in very recent years -- like during The Chew's years.  The Spotted Pig stories I read about last year, and they seemed to indicate that most of the bad behavior took place quite a while ago (not  recently, in other words).   But I wonder if something is going to come out about behavior behind the scenes at The Chew, with people who worked on the show.

As for Clinton, I never got the feeling that he had much of a relationship with Mario outside of the show.  He probably has lots of opinions, and lots of things he could say, but is legally prohibited from saying anything.

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break21

break21

It's amazing how many jobs are lost because of Mario.  I have a feeling he was on his best behavior on the Chew set, but when he was in one of his restaurants and around his employees the bad behavior came out, especially if he was drinking.  I doubt Clinton or Carla saw his bad side.  Michael was close to Mario so it's hard to say what he knew.

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