Before the age of social media, Giada De Laurentiis helped create the blueprint for modern culinary multi-hyphenate women as a Food Network host, cookbook author and chef. But she says her road to success wasn't without adversity behind the scenes.
In the most recent episode of Samah Dada's YouTube series, "On The Menu," De Laurentiis opened up about an emotional incident she claims involved fellow chef Mario Batali more than 23 years ago, during her early days as the host of "Everyday Italian."
"This is a person we're not supposed to talk about, but we're going to," De Laurentiis said in the July 29 episode. "I remember from my first cookbook, 'Everyday Italian,' asking Mario Batali for a foreword. Because he's really the main guy I had worked with, he's a legend in the Italian space. Of course we know what happened afterwards, but in that time, he was. And I felt like his stamp of approval would have been huge for me."
"He said he would, and then he wrote it," she continued. "And when I read it, I cried, because I realized, ah, he's basically saying that I've gotten to where I've gotten and had this little bit of success that I had because I have big boobs, and that if he had boobs, he would even be much further ... because I'm like a joke, right? Like, to him, it was like a little bit of a joke."
De Laurentiis said she called her editor, Pam Krauss of Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, "in tears."
"I was like, 'Clearly I can't use this, so now what do I do?'" she recalled.
De Laurentiis claims Krauss told her they would "rewrite" the foreword and send it back to Batali "just for approval," which she said they did.
"But I will never forget," she said, referring to Batali's alleged original foreword. "That's basically what a lot of people figured. Cute girl with big boobs, and so that's why they're watching her. And that's why she's successful."
ABC News has reached out to Krauss for confirmation of De Laurentiis' account.
Batali, who rose to fame as the host of Food Network's "Molto Mario" from 1996 to 2004 and as co-host of the former ABC daytime cooking show "The Chew" from 2011 to 2017, came under public scrutiny after being accused of sexual misconduct in December 2017, amid the #MeToo movement.
Four women accused Batali of inappropriate touching, which prompted him to take a leave of absence from both his restaurant business and "The Chew" that year.
In a statement immediately following the initial of sexual misconduct accusations, Batali said he was "so very sorry" for disappointing his friends, family, co-workers and fans, adding at the time, "My behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility."
Batali was eventually terminated from the "The Chew," which was canceled in June 2018, and he sold his restaurant holdings a year later.
In a statement at the time of Batali's termination from "The Chew," ABC said, "While we remain unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with our show, ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment and his past behavior violates our standards of conduct."
Batali was later accused of sexual assault by several other women, and in 2018, the New York City Police Department confirmed it had opened criminal investigations for two separate sexual assault allegations against Batali, one of which was reported on "60 Minutes" that same year. In a statement to ABC News at the time, Batali said in part, "I vehemently deny any allegations of sexual assault. My past behavior has been deeply inappropriate and I am sincerely remorseful for my actions."
The NYPD ultimately declined to file charges in those cases, stating that they could not find enough evidence to make an arrest.
In 2022, in the only case involving Batali that went to trial, he was found not guilty of indecent assault and battery, in connection with a 2017 incident in Boston. Batali has maintained that he is not guilty of the allegations in that case.
De Laurentiis stepped away from Food Network in 2023 after 21 years. She has written and published 11 cookbooks, founded an Italian e-commerce market and lifestyle brand, Giadzi, and most recently returned on-camera with the new Amazon Prime series "Giada in My Kitchen."
Giada De Laurentiis cranks out 8 new Italian-made, private-label pastas for GiadzyDada thanked De Laurentiis on social media Tuesday for sharing a "powerful conversation" with her during their July 29 interview and for "being so vulnerable and personal."
The post, which featured a clip from the interview, has amassed millions of views, thousands of likes and hundreds of comments combined across TikTok and Instagram.
A representative for Batali did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
