Obviously, we've seen a lot of people deal with allegations of sexual misconduct this year. We've also seen a variety of responses to those allegations.
Some people have immediately apologized for their actions. (Of course, those apologies only came after their victims had come forward with allegations.) Others have vehemently denied any wrongdoing (not a good look). At least one person — film director Morgan Spurlock — has admitted to sexually harassing people before the specific allegations were made public.
But we haven't seen an "apology" quite like Mario Batali's. It's honestly one of the most bizarre things to have happened this year. And that's saying something.
Last week, we all learned the truth about Mario Batali.
Over the weekend, Batali sent the following email newsletter to his fans, presumably as a sort of apology:
Hmmm....
We couldn't help but notice that Batali's "apology" note appears to "apologize" to everyone except the women he sexually harassed. That's obviously not OK. But the next part of the message is even worse.Batali's "apology" note includes the following postscript:
What? How? WHY?!
How did this happen? How could Mario Batali possibly think that it was a good idea to include a recipe — for Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls — at the end of a newsletter that acknowledges the fact that he sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women?! It truly beggars belief. The Internet felt the same way...A bunch of people assumed the Cinnamon Roll recipe was some kind of joke:
I genuinely thought that “Mario Batali includes a cinnamon roll recipe in his sexual harassment apology” was an oni… https://t.co/yV6Ho6nODD— Ben Novack (@Ben Novack)1513438808.0
Needless to say, people had some questions.
@rainerickson @timothymalcolm @jules_su I need more details. Do you add the hubris in with the yeast or does it get mixed into the icing?— Thanks Georgia! (@Thanks Georgia!)1513391358.0
One woman even tried the recipe:
My Mario Batali Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls are complete and they taste hollow and meaningless! https://t.co/Su7r7AALdJ— amy wood (@amy wood)1513533513.0
Maybe Batali will offer another apology for his awful apology.
@jules_su Tomorrow: MARIO BATALI Hey guys, look, I'm sorry if I offended anyone by undercutting my apology with a… https://t.co/ynDkFNfLY4— Timothy Malcolm (@Timothy Malcolm)1513385669.0
All in all, this was a huge, orange-Croc-y misstep by Mario Batali.
.@Mariobatali In your apology for your shitty apology, can you please include the recipe for cacio e pepe?— Chip Hinkleman (@Chip Hinkleman)1513478116.0