First launched in the US in 1993, The Food
Network's path to success hasn't always been easy. In fact, the foodie favorite has weathered
quite a few scandals, and some of those shocking situations have rocked the network — and
its devoted fans — to their very core. Here 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 battling
leukemia, requested to meet her through the Make-A-Wish program — and she denied him
due to her busy schedule. Twice. His family wrote about the incident in a now-defunct
blog, which then got the media's attention. Garten did damage control, inviting Pereda
onto her show. But the Peredas passed on Garten's offer,
saying that young Enzo would instead fulfill his wish of swimming with dolphins. Mario Batali's skimmed 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 suit represented 117 people who worked
for Batali in his restaurants, alleging that Batali illegally skimmed tips, keeping four
to five percent of the money that should have gone to his servers. Batali finally agreed to a settlement in 2012
— paying $5.25 million to the employees named in the lawsuit, and any of the employees
who lost tips as a result of Batali's tip-skimming from July 2004 to February 2012. But Batali was back in the news in 2017, when
four women accused him of inappropriate touching. Batali didn't deny the allegations, which
spanned 20 years. He said, in a statement to Eater, "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." Batali watered-down a second apology in an
emailed newsletter where he added a link to his 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. ABC fired him as co-host of The Chew, and
Food Network announced that they would no longer be producing 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 female employees at Centro Vinoteca, a West Village restaurant where she was formerly
a chef. According to the lawsuit, Burrell was accused
of calling the all-female plaintiffs a string of derogatory names. She also reportedly made remarks about their
cleavage, and is said to have openly commented on their private lives. When the women complained, Burrell allegedly
had them fired. Although an undisclosed settlement was reached
in that case, Burrell has not commented on the validity of the accusations. Robert Irvine's fake resume Chef Robert Irvine shot to fame as host of
Food Network's Dinner Impossible. His resume boasted a British knighthood, cooking
for four former US presidents, and a friendship with Prince Charles — as well as a hand
in creating his wedding cake when he wed 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 Dinner Impossible in disgrace. The show continued to air with Michael Symon
at the helm, but after Irvine apologized, Food Network eventually welcomed him back. Nigella Lawson's abuse Chef Nigella Lawson's good girl image took
a hit in 2013, when the multi-millionaire and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi, accused
their former assistants, Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, of defrauding the couple of hundreds
of thousands of pounds. The Grillo sisters contested the charges,
claiming that they were allowed to spend the couple's funds by Lawson, on the condition
that they didn't reveal her substance use to Saatchi. The Grillos claimed that Lawson used cocaine
daily, and had abused prescription drugs for years. During the trial, Lawson told the court, "I have never been a drug addict. I've 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 remarks Guy Fieri came under scrutiny in 2011 when
some incredibly offensive remarks of his were revealed to the press. According to David Page, the 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 warning! Those people weird me out!" Page added that from that time forward, producers
were told to make a note if they picked up any, quote, "indications of homosexuality"
during the pre-interview process. Ree Drummond's racist recipe On 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 made Asian hot wings
for her family and friends, which were met with disgusted faces. "Where's the real ones? What do you mean? (blah blah) I don't trust em." Drummond then joked... "I'm just kidding guys, I wouldn't do that
to you." ...And replaced the hot wings with American
Buffalo wings. The blog Thick Dumpling Skin called Drummond
and Food Network out, writing, "Why must we watch non-Asian cooks [...] show
us how to make our own dishes? And how come, when they do, we have to watch
as their entire family mocks it — like in this episode of The Pioneer Woman?" Eater called for Food Network to stop airing
the episode in 2017. Paula Deen's racial slur Scandal broke out in 2013 after Paula Deen
admitted to having used 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 to dust, she
pleaded with fans and coworkers: "I beg for your forgiveness." But Deen's apology might have been more convincing
if her company hadn't released 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 America's
South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans
rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today." Five years after her half-baked apology tour,
Deen has returned to TV (on a different network), with her new cooking show, Positively Paula. Thanks for watching! Click the Mashed icon to subscribe to our
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