Already accused of sexual harassment and groping, US celebrity chef Mario Batali now faces allegations that he sexually assaulted impaired women at a New York restaurant, CBS television's 60 Minutes reported Sunday.
Batali had already stepped away from his eponymous gastronomic empire over previous allegations of sexual misconduct.
One woman who was employed at one of Batali's establishments said he invited her to a party at The Spotted Pig restaurant, in which he had invested, where she drank white wine with him.
'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,' the unidentified woman told 60 Minutes about the alleged 2005 incident.
'I woke up by myself on the floor, I don't know where I am, of an empty room, 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".'
After finding what appeared to be semen on her skirt, she called a crisis hotline and went to a hospital for an examination, but declined to file a police report, and her 'rape kit' from the hospital was not processed.
Batali said in a statement that he 'vehemently' denies assaulting the woman.
Jamie Seet, a former manager at The Spotted Pig, said she witnessed via surveillance footage Batali carrying out another assault at the restaurant, and that she intervened to stop it.
'He crossed a line. A huge, a huge line... assaulting someone that's unconscious,' Seet said.
'So we all went out there, and we - we stopped what was going on. "Hey Mario. How are you doing? Let's get you a cab."
'Just - you know, we were saying something just to snap him out of this,' Seet said, adding that she regrets not contacting police.
Seet also alleged during the interview that Batali 'grabbed my breasts' while she served him on one occasion.
A former waitress at The Spotted Pig, Natalie Saibel, said that Batali 'came to party and have a good time. And make passes at the female wait staff and make inappropriate comments. Grab people.'
Seet says she then complained to Batali's friend, Ken Friedman, who was a co-owner of the restaurant.
'And I said, "Ken, Mario just grabbed my boobs," and he's like, "oh, don't worry about it, it's just Mario". And I'm like ok.'
Another of Batali's accusers, Trish Nelson, has also alleged that Friedman once pulled the back of her head into his crotch.
Nelson was a longtime server at the restaurant.
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