Anthony Bourdain And Tom Colicchio Say They Knew About Mario Batali’s Behavior

December 12, 2017 / Posted by:

Yesterday, Eater announced that Mario Batali was stepping away from The Chew and stepping down from his food empire after it was revealed he spent years handling women’s bodies like fruit at a farmer’s market. So far, no one has jumped to Mario’s defense. Not even a peep from the balding pony-tailed community or fleece vest enthusiasts. However, on the other side, we’ve got Anthony Bourdain and Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio speaking out against Mario and condemning his behavior.

This all started on Sunday after footage made its way onto the internet of Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme kicking a female photographer in the head at a concert. Anthony – a friend of Josh – proceeded to call Josh out on Twitter, because (according to Anthony) that’s what a decent person does. Then Anthony said that Monday wasn’t going to be a treat either. Obviously Anthony knew that Monday was the day Eater was planning to publish their piece on Mario.

And then Monday came:

That’s when Tom Colicchio chimed in to say that he wasn’t shocked:

People responded, asking Anthony and Tom why they didn’t say anything about Super Gross Mario. Anthony says that he only started hearing things about Mario a few weeks ago because he’s been out of the restaurant industry for several decades. And also, he didn’t feel like they were his stories to tell.

Tom, on the other hand, quickly pointed to an open letter he wrote more than a month ago to male chefs. Tom spoke up at length about the “rampant harassment” in their industry, and that it was up to men to stop it. He urged male chefs to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards misogyny, sexist remarks, and to reinvent their industry as a safe place for women.

But also like Anthony, Tom felt that the rumors about Mario Batali weren’t his stories to tell.

And Tom added that it’s not like he and Anthony were the only male chefs with insider knowledge about Mario.

There’s no winner in this fight. Well, maybe there’s one possible winner here, and that’s Guy Fieri. After all, Anthony can’t possibly drag Guy if his hands are too busy Tweeting about Mario Batali.

Pic: Wenn.com

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