Once a renowned chef, Mario Batali’s stardom has turned out worse with the series of allegations against him. The celebrity chef settled two lawsuits in August 2022 against two women whom he allegedly groped in public in 2017.
Now in the documentary Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef, a woman who worked for him stepped up, accusing Batali of sexual assault, NewYork Times report. Eva DeVirgilis opens up about the decade-long incident that allegedly took place at Batali’s restaurant Babbo in 2005.
DeVirgilis, the activist for female empowerment, recalls she was working at Babbo in Greenwich Village. Her boss Batali invited her to dinner, and they met at the pub Spotted Pig. She woke up the following day only to find herself on the restaurant floor.
She recalls being unconscious while she was sexually assaulted. The hospital report she showed to The New York Times reveals she might have been drugged during the alleged assault.
The documentary Batali: The Fall of a Superstar Chef further reveals the incident and how Batali’s stardom protected him for years. It first premiered on Discovery+ on August 23.
Here are all the facts you need to know about Eva DeVirgilis.
She Was An Actress Working At Baboo
When the alleged incident occurred, DeVirgilis was an aspiring actress working full-time at Batali’s star-studded restaurant Baboo. She appeared on NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2005 in the role of Marcia Cullen.
Despite the incident, which left her traumatized for years, she followed her passion for acting. In 2010, she appeared in the TV documentary Vom Pionier zum Millionär as Regina Roos Steinway.
Her movies and TV series credits include Speak Now, TURN: Washington’s Spies, Lexxxus, and By the Grace of Bob.
Eva DeVirgilis Is A Female Empowerment Activist
Eva DeVirgilis is an advocate and activist for female empowerment. She owns a self-titled blog where she speaks for women’s rights. She has written several blogs and has even participated in TED conferences.
In her TEDx talk In My Chair: A Makeup Artist’s Perspective on Beauty, DeVirgilis appealed to all women around the globe to stop saying the word ‘Sorry.’ It won the Cadence Theatre’s RTCC Award for Best Original Work in 2019.
Her TEDx talk can further be highlighted in her blog Finding My Voice, where her motto for women is ‘No Apologies.’
Her Husband Is A Commander In The Navy
Eva DeVirgilis and her husband, Scott Wichmann, have been married since August 6, 2016. She is proud of being a military spouse who has been serving to strengthen the country.
Her husband currently serves as a Navy Reserve Forces commander in Norfolk, Virginia. According to his LinkedIn, he previously worked as a mass communication specialist at the U.S. fleet force command.
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Wichmann also served in Naples, Italy, during COVID-19 on a six-months mission supporting active duty public affairs. He is a graduate with BA in Musical Theatre from Wagner College.
