Another day, another man being exposed for being a creep. Today’s shitty man: celebrity chef and The Chew host, Mario Batali. In a shocking twist, Batali offered a mostly decent apology, taking full responsibility, without saying once that he “recalls the events differently” or that “some” of the accusations are false (although that “much” doesn’t sit great with me):
I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted. That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused to my peers, employees, customers, friends and family.
Fellow TV chef Tom Colicchio was unsurprised:
And Colicchio wrote about the problem in the industry last month:
Batali has announced that he will be leaving The Chew, which, good, but it also means this gallery of all the shows that have been affected by sexual harassment that I just made on Friday is already outdated. SO MANY SEX CREEPS. HOW IS ANYONE ANYWHERE GETTING ANYTHING DONE WITH SO MANY SEX CREEPS OUT THERE?
Speaking of that orange groper, Megyn Kelly had three of his accusers, Jessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey and Rachel Crooks, on her show today. The women then held a press conference where they asked Congress to investigate Trump.
Producer David Guillod has been accused of a 2014 rape and is under investigation.
NBC News has fired another senior staffer over harassment allegations.
Harold Perrineau Jr. has spoken out about his daughter’s rape case. It’s easy to forget that these horrible cases of abuse don’t merely affect the victim, but a whole host of people in her world. It’s a brave and inspiring and heartbreaking statement that deserves to be read:
In Bryan Singer news — and, again, a reminder that this sexual harassment story is not just a Women v. Men thing — this asshole continues to claim that Fox isn’t telling the real story about why he was fired from Bohemian Rhapsody. (To be fair, their claim is that it is because he was MIA from the set, and I do suspect that’s not the entire story of why he was fired.) In the meantime, USC is removing Singer’s name from their film school, and one of Bryan Singer’s former teen lovers has come forward with some dirrrrrrrrrrt. And here’s a story from 1997 that has burbled back up to the surface.
Louis C.K. is buying back his movie I Love You, Daddy (just typing that made me shiver).
We haven’t talked about Johnny Depp here, but we need to. Depp was cast in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 despite multiple allegations of abuse by his ex-wife Amber Heard. The director of the film defended him by saying that “it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something,” effectively dismissing Heard’s claims.
More disappointingly, J.K. Rowling came out with a statement reading in part, “The agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives, must be respected. Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.”
In response, Heard tweeted the following:
NBC is interviewing employees over the Lauer scandal, and Katie Couric has broken her silence, simply stating that it is “incredibly upsetting.”
A new report has come out that states British TV is a toxic work environment. Yeah, welcome to the party, guys.
Al Franken once wrote in jest that a sex scandal would kill his political career. Ha?
Speaking of politicians, there are reportedly up to 40 Congressmen who might be in trouble. BRING ME 40 SCALPS.
Hey, quick question: why are male TV executives being replaced with more white guys?
HEY, FAMOUS ACTOR WHO TOLD JESSICA CHASTAIN TO CALM DOWN: NOT NOW.
In Other News
The Golden Globe nominations came out. And I would get all upset about who got snubbed and whatever (IMMA LET YOU FINISH, GOLDEN GLOBES, BUT THE LEFTOVERS WAS THE BEST SHOW LAST YEAR), but I don’t really care? Because the Golden Globes are bought and paid for bullshit?
Interestingly, the Producers Guild of America has reclassified Big Little Lies as a drama series (instead of a “limited series”) upon news of its renewal (see below). It’s mostly interesting in light of awards ceremonies like the Golden Globes where there is far less competition in a limited series category than drama or comedy.
Walking Dead spoiler (although I’m sure you know already) But the father of the actor whose character met a bad fate last night is SUPER PISSED, saying that he never trusted Scott M. Gimple or AMC.
Outlander also had its season finale last night. Here’s what we know about season 4. And here’s what we want to know.
American Vandal was the most binged show on Netflix this year, and that just makes sense: you can’t stop watching it once you start.
We love Chance the Rapper. YOU BETTER KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF AND YOUR PANTS ZIPPED, CHANCE.
Megyn Kelly Today goes heavy; those pixies over on Kelly and Ryan go light.
America’s Next Top Model will crossover with Drag Race this season, which is the best idea I’ve heard in a long while.
You still have time to do some holiday shopping. Here are some ideas for the Game of Thrones fans in your life, and here are just some very weird items, like a signed picture of Wynn Duffy or Mad Men sock garters.
And I’ve got some thoughts about Trump’s attack on the media this weekend, but they are going to have to wait because today was too much. TOO MUCH.
In Development
- Big Little Lies is returning for a second season even though it definitely should not.
- The podcast “Welcome to Night Vale” is being turned into a series at FX.
- The Witcher saga is being developed into a series for Netflix.
- Showtime is developing Kilroy County from Alexander Payne.
- The Lars Kepler novel The Hypnotist is going to be turned into a TV series.
- Nick Cassavetes is developing a drama based on disgraced NHL owner Bruce McNall.
Casting News
- Alice Cooper is your King Herod in NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live!
- Corinne Foxx, daughter of Jaime, will join Beat Shazam as the new DJ.
- Nashville has cast Ilse DeLange in a recurring role.
- Michael Malarkey has joined Blue Book.
- Elena Campbell-Martínez, Ramses Jimenez, Luis Bordonada, Elizabeth De Razzo, Renee Victor and Erika Soto have rounded out the cast of Starz’s Vida.
Mark Your Calendar
- The Walking Dead will return on February 25. (Warning: spoilers for last night’s episode at the link.)
- Marvel’s Jessica Jones will return for season 2 on March 8.
- Fuller House returns on Netflix on December 22.
- Looks like Stranger Things won’t be back until 2019.
- Mozart in the Jungle returns on Amazon on February 16.
- Queer Eye will return in February on Netflix.
- TBS has set an American Dad Christmas special for December 25.
- Olaf’s Frozen Adventure will debut on ABC this Thursday.
- The Bill Hader hitman comedy Barry will debut on HBO in the spring.
- AXS has released premiere dates for The Top Ten Revealed (Feb. 11); The Big Interview (Feb. 27); Rock and Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar and Real Money (April 8).
WATCH THIS
The Bachelor: Countdown to Arie: More like Countdown to liver failure. 9 p.m., ABC
Better Late Than Never: It’s that show where old guys travel around the world and embarrass us on the global stage. Sneak preview. 9 p.m., NBC
A Gray State: A documentary about a conspiracy theorist who, along with his family, turned up dead and the inevitable theories that sprung up concerning their deaths. 9 p.m., A&E
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Zendaya, Bill Crudup, Big Sean & Metro Boomin Late Night with Seth Meyers: Anthony Anderson, Hong Chau, Amanda Seales, Mark Guiliana The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Matt Damon, Rahm Emanuel, Juanes The Late Late Show with James Corden: James Franco, Dave Franco, Hanson Conan: Ed Helms, Fareed Zakaria, Electric Guest The Daily Show: Pete Souza The Opposition with Jordan Klepper : John Della Volpe Watch What Happens Live: Bridget Everett, Jax Taylor
| MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Great Christmas Light Fight (new) |
The Bachelor: Countdown to Arie (new) |
| CBS | Kevin Can Wait (new) |
Man with a Plan (new) |
Superior Donuts (new) |
9JKL (new) |
Scorpion (new) |
| CW | Penn & Teller: Fool Us (repeat) |
Valor (new) |
Local |
| FOX | Lucifer (new) |
The Gifted (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
Better Late Than Never (new) |