Mario Batali’s sexual misconduct trial opened Monday in a Boston court with his accuser recounting how she’d been “shocked, surprised and alarmed” as …
Mario Batali’s sexual misconduct trial opened Monday in a Boston court with his accuser recounting how she’d been “shocked, surprised and alarmed” as the celebrity chef aggressively kissed and groped her while taking selfies at a restaurant in 2017. The 32-year-old Boston-area software company worker said she felt confused and powerless to do anything to stop Batali. “It was all happening so quickly and it was happening essentially the whole time,” the woman testified in the trial, which resumes Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court. “Just a lot of touching.” She said she felt embarrassed until she saw other women step forward to share similar encounters with Batali. “This happened to me and this is my life,” the woman responded when prosecutors asked why she’d come forward. “I want to be able to take control of what happened, say my piece and have everyone be accountable for their actions.” But Batali’s lawyer, Anthony Fuller, sought to discredit her, arguing that the assault never happened. He said the accuser has a financial incentive to lie as she’s seeking more than $50,000 in damages from Batali in a separate civil lawsuit pending in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston. “She’s not being truthful,” Fuller said. “This is being fabricated for money and for fun.” During cross examination, he produced financial statements showing the woman ate at Eataly, the Italian marketplace Batali once had an ownership stake in, weeks after the encounter and continued to patronize the Boston bar where the alleged assault took place.
