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The Biggest Scandals Ever To Hit The Food Network

Feb 27, 2020
First launched in the US in 1993, The Food Network's road to success hasn't always been easy. In fact, the

food

ie favorite has weathered quite a few

scandals

, and some of those shocking situations have shaken the chain (and its devoted fans) to its core. These are some of the

biggest

scandals

the Food Network has

ever

faced. Ina Garten's Pass Ina Garten, host of Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, revealed her not-so-nice side in 2011 when Enzo Pereda, a 6-year-old boy battling leukemia, requested to meet her through the Make-A-Wish show. , and she denied it due to her busy schedule. Twice. Her family wrote about the incident on a now-defunct blog, which later attracted media attention.
the biggest scandals ever to hit the food network
Garten did damage control and invited Pereda to his show. But the Peredas rejected Garten's offer, saying that young Enzo would fulfill his wish to swim with dolphins. Mario Batali's Summary Tips Chef Mario Batali came under fire in 2010 when a class-action lawsuit was filed against him on behalf of some of his employees. The lawsuit represented 117 people who worked for Batali at his restaurants, alleging that Batali illegally stole tips and kept between four and five percent of the money that should have gone to his waiters. Batali finally agreed to a settlement in 2012, paying $5.25 million to employees named in the lawsuit and any employees who lost tips as a result of Batali's tip theft between July 2004 and February 2012.
the biggest scandals ever to hit the food network

More Interesting Facts About,

the biggest scandals ever to hit the food network...

But Batali was in the news again. in 2017, when four women accused him of inappropriate touching. Batali did not deny the allegations, which date back 20 years. He said, in a statement to Eater, "That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility and deeply regret any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused my colleagues, employees, customers, friends and family." Batali diluted a second apology in an emailed newsletter where she added a link to her Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls, which are now known online by a few other names, including "Apology Rolls." Either way, Batali's career took a nosedive.
the biggest scandals ever to hit the food network
ABC fired him as co-host of The Chew, and Food Network announced that they would no longer produce his show Molto Mario, which they had previously planned to revive. Anne Burrell's Trash Talk In 2009, chef Anne Burrell was sued for discriminating against employees at Centro Vinoteca, a West Village restaurant where she was previously a chef. According to the lawsuit, Ella Burrell was accused of calling the exclusively female plaintiffs a series of derogatory names. He also reportedly made comments about her cleavage and is said to have openly commented on her private lives. When the women complained, Burrell allegedly had them fired.
the biggest scandals ever to hit the food network
Although an undisclosed settlement was reached in that case, Burrell has not commented on the validity of the allegations. Robert Irvine's Fake Resume Chef Robert Irvine rose to fame as the host of Food Network's Dinner Impossible. His CV included a British knighthood, cooking for four former US presidents and a friendship with Prince Charles, as well as collaborating on the creation of his wedding cake when he married Princess Diana. But it all turned out to be too good to be true, when it was revealed in 2008 that Irvine's resume was substantially padded. Irvine left Cena Impossible in disgrace. The show continued to air with Michael Symon at the helm, but after Irvine apologized, Food Network finally welcomed him back.
Chef Nigella Lawson's good-girl image took a hit in 2013, when the billionaire and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi, accused her former assistants, Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, of defrauding the couple out of hundreds of dollars. thousands of pounds. The Grillo sisters contested the charges, alleging that Lawson allowed them to spend the couple's funds, on the condition that they not reveal her substance use to Saatchi. The Grillos claimed Lawson used cocaine daily and had abused prescription drugs for years. During the trial, Lawson told the court: "I have n

ever

been a drug addict. I have never been a habitual user. There are two times in my life when I have used." The Grillo sisters were acquitted of the charges.
Guy Fieri's Comments Guy Fieri came under scrutiny in 2011 when some incredibly offensive comments of his were revealed to the press. According to David Page, creator and former producer of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, one of the restaurants they visited for the show was run by two men who Fieri had determined "were life partners." Page said Fieri called him and said, "You can't send me to talk to gay people without telling you! Those people make me weird!" Page added that from then on, producers were asked to take note if they detected any, quote, "hints of homosexuality" during the pre-interview process.
Ree Drummond's Racist Recipe In the second season of The Pioneer Woman, the show's star, Ree Drummond, made a racist joke that offended many of her viewers. On the show, Drummond prepared Asian hot wings for her family and her friends, who were greeted with disgusted faces. "Where are the real ones? What do you mean? (blah blah) I don't trust them." Drummond then joked... "I'm just kidding, I wouldn't do that to them." ...And she replaced the spicy wings with American Buffalo wings. The Thick Dumpling Skin blog called out Drummond and the Food Network and wrote: "Why do we have to watch non-Asian cooks show us how to make our own dishes?
And why, when they do, we have to watch their entire family make fun of it." ". Like in this episode of The Pioneer Woman? Eater asked Food Network to stop airing the episode in 2017. The Paula Deen racial slur scandal broke in 2013 after Paula Deen admitted to using the "N-word." The racist language came to light as part of a lawsuit filed by a former employee of a restaurant co-owned by Deen. As her empire quickly turned into dust, she pleaded with her fans and co-workers: "I apologize." But Deen's apology might have been more convincing if her company had not issued a statement claiming that Deen used the slur in a "different era," attempting to justify Deen's language, saying, "She was born 60 years ago, when the South of the United States had schools. which were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans were traveling in different parts of the bus.
This isn't today." Five years after her half-hearted apology tour, Deen returned to television (on a different

network

) with her new cooking show, Positively Paula. Thanks for watching! Click the Mash icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Plus, check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love too!

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