Chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain penned an essay speaking out against sexual misconduct following Monday’s allegations against Mario Batali.
The host of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” wrote that he stands “unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women” who have come forward to accuse Batali and numerous other men in Hollywood, politics and media of sexual harassment or assault.
“Women risk a crushing level of public skepticism, vilification, shaming, and retribution,” he wrote in the essay titled “On Reacting to Bad News,” shared to Medium. “They have nothing to gain, and everything to lose.”
Bourdain attributes his stance to “one extraordinary woman with a particularly awful story to tell, who introduced me to other extraordinary women with equally awful stories,” referring to his girlfriend Asia Argento, who was one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of rape earlier in October.
Batali was removed from ABC’s “The Chew” after four unnamed women alleging incidents of sexual misconduct and groping dating back two decades. In a statement, Batali apologized for the behavior and said he’d step away from day-to-day management of his company, Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group.
In the essay on Tuesday, Bourdain expressed remorse for his own role in the romanticization of the restaurant industry which fostered poor behavior by men and created a toxic work environment for women.
“To the extent which my work in ‘Kitchen Confidential’ celebrated or prolonged a culture that allowed the kind of grotesque behaviors we’re hearing about all too frequently is something I think about daily, with real remorse,” he wrote.