Celebrity chef Mario Batali found not guilty of groping fan who took a selfie with him
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Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been found not guilty after he was accused of groping a fan while taking a selfie with her.
Natali Tene, a fan of Mr Batali, said she posed for a photo with him, and while doing so he groped her just out of sight of the camera.
“His right hand is all over my breasts, all over my rear end, all between my legs,” Ms Tene said during her testimony. “I’ve never been grabbed like that before … squeezing my vagina and pulling me closer to him. As if that’s a normal way to pull someone in.”
Mr Batali denied the allegations and opted for a bench trial. He was charged with indecent assault and battery relating to the groping incident in 2019.
The celebrity chef faced several other allegations in 2017, which were collected in an Eater report which spoke with four women who said Mr Batali "touched them inappropriately in a pattern of behaviour that appears to span at least two decades."
