HORRIFIC

Former Mario Batali Employee Says Disgraced Celebrity Chef Sexually Assaulted Her

“I didn’t know I should be afraid of my millionaire celebrity boss in a public place,” she said.

A former employee of celebrity chef Mario Batali who alleges he sexually assaulted her has identified herself in a new documentary film. Eva DeVirgilis, 43, gives a disturbing account of an alleged 2005 incident at a gastro pub, The Spotted Pig, where Batali was an investor and would party with friends and staff in an upstairs private room. DeVirgilis, who had been working at Batali’s restaurant Babbo for a year at the time, said the restaurateur took her to the pub in a limousine and plied her with alcohol. “I was so naïve,” she said. “I knew not to walk across Central Park at night or to be alone in a stairwell. I didn’t know I should be afraid of my millionaire celebrity boss in a public place.” DeVirgilis says she woke the next morning on the floor of the private room to find scratches on her body and what appeared to be semen on her skirt. She claims to remember Batali kissing her hard and throwing up in a toilet while he was behind her. Batali has previously faced allegations of sexual misconduct, settling two lawsuits last month over groping claims. DeVirgilis shares her account in the film Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef, which is set to air on Discovery+ on Thursday.