Mario Batali's Former Employee Recounts Alleged Rape in New Documentary
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David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty
A former employee of Mario Batali is sharing her account of an alleged sexual assault by the chef and identifies herself for the first time in a new discovery+ documentary Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef.
According to The New York Times, whose reporters contributed to the documentary, Eva DeVirgilis, appears in the film, which streams on Thursday. DeVirgilis, 43, was working at Batali's first restaurant, Babbo, in New York City in 2005 when he invited the staff to the Spotted Pig.
"I thought I would have a drink or two with the group, get on the subway and go home," she told NYT, but recalls instead finding Batali waiting alone for her in a limousine. DeVirgilis says she remembers Batali kissing her hard, and standing over her as she vomited, and then woke up the next day on the floor of the restaurant with scratches on her legs.
The New York Times revealed DeVirgilis shared a hospital report with the newspaper from later that day that describes her injuries, including bruised ribs and several abrasions. She was administered a rape kit but did not file a police report "because her boss is a powerful person who can blacklist her from the industry," according to the hospital report shared with the Times.
Breaking News: A former Mario Batali employee who said he sexually assaulted her identified herself and detailed her account in a new documentary, saying she was assaulted while unconscious and woke up on the floor of the Spotted Pig's private dining room. https://t.co/TQlj1zBYoL
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 21, 2022
"I was so naïve," DeVirgilis said of her perception of Batali prior to the alleged assault. "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."
Batali was first accused of sexual harassment and assault in December 2017. Eater reported the famed chef allegedly groped four different women and engaged in inappropriate touching spanning two decades.
In 2021, Batali and Joe Bastianich were ordered to pay $600,000 to 20 people who were sexually assaulted while working at the pair's restaurants. DeVirgilis was included in the settlement but did not publicly identify herself until the discovery+ documentary.
In May 2022, Batalli was found not guilty on charges of indecent battery and assault after less than two days of testimonies in Boston Municipal Court for different allegations.
DeVirgilis told NYT that she could not comment on whether she will be going to the NYPD about her 2005 alleged assault.
