Johnny Iuzzini scandal: ABC cancels ‘The Great American Baking Show’ after he’s accused of sexual harassment

December 13, 2017

by Colleen McGregor

ABC has abruptly cancelled “The Great American Baking Show” after several female ex-subordinates of Johnny Iuzzini (one of the show’s judges) accused him of sexual harassment and sexual assault. “The Great American Baking Show” (originally titled “The Great Holiday Baking Show”) is the U.S. version of “The Great British Bake Off.” Iuzzini had been with the American show since its debut in 2015. The third season premiered on ABC on December 7, 2017, and featured new hosts Ayesha Curry and Anthony Adams, as well has new judge Paul Hollywood, who is one of the original judges of “The Great British Bake Off.”

The allegations against Iuzzini were first published by the news website Mic in incidents that the accusers say took place between 2009 and 2011, when Iuzzini was a pastry chef at Jean-Georges restaurant at the Trump International Hotel in New York. Iuzzini left Jean-Georges in 2011.

In an article published by Mic on November 29, 2017, four women (who did not reveal their identities for fear of retaliation) describe Iuzzini as boss of a mostly female staff who would frequently abuse his power in a sexually aggressive way. Iuzzini would allegedly demand shoulder massages from his female employees, grope female employees without their consent, simulate sex on their bodies or in their presence, and make sexual and other abusive comments. One of the women also said that Iuzzini would stick his tongue in her ear without her consent, and that it happened many times.

One of the women admitted to having a consensual, on-again/off-again sexual relationship with Iuzzini, but says that she felt pressured into the relationship, which began around the time that Iuzzini interviewed her to work at the restaurant. The other women did not have sexual relationships with Iuzzini, and say that he made the working environment so toxic that they eventually quit because of him. All of them said that they did not file formal complaints out of fear, but that they told many people at the time these alleged incidents occurred.

Iuzzini released this statement to Mic: “I am shattered and heartbroken at the thought that any of my actions left members of my team feeling hurt or degraded. More importantly, I am deeply sorry to those who felt hurt. I certainly deny the allegations, as presented to me, that I ever had a drug problem, threw an empty nitrogen canister at anyone or that I left Jean-Georges on anything other than good terms (I provided three months’ notice and maintain a good relationship with chef and mentor Jean-Georges to this day). Many of the other allegations are inaccurate, others I do not recall and none were meant to hurt people. Nonetheless, I must take responsibility if any of the members of my team felt uncomfortable by my words or actions, regardless of my intent or recollection. I must hear that what the women making the accusations are telling me and recognize I caused pain. I have strived to be a good mentor over the course of my career, and I now understand that I failed some people. To me, that is unacceptable.”

Iuzzini then went on to say in his statement that he learned this type of “unacceptable” behavior when he was a boy, and that for years, he thought that acting that way “was deemed permissible since four-star kitchens are high-stress jobs.”

On December 12, 2017, Mic published another article in which four more women came forward to say that they witnessed sexual harassment perpetrated by Iuzzini at Jean-Georges. One of the witnesses said that the restaurant’s management was aware of Iuzzini’s behavior as far back as 2004 but did nothing to stop the alleged harassment. The ex-employees of the alleged harassment said that they did not file formal complaints because they feared retaliation and felt that the restaurant’s management would protect Iuzzini. However, a lawsuit (which did not go to court) alleged that Iuzzini hired a female stripper to perform at an after-hours party at the restaurant, and that several attendees of the party were deeply offended because they did not know a stripper would be performing.

ABC released this statement: “In light of allegations that recently came to our attention, ABC has ended its relationship with Johnny Iuzzini and will not be airing the remainder of The Great American Baking Show episodes. ABC takes matters such as those described in the allegations very seriously and has come to the conclusion that they violate our standards of conduct.”

This is the second major sexual-harassment scandal to hit a celebrity chef with a show on ABC. On December 11, 2017, Mario Batali was ousted as co-host of “The Chew” after he admitted to and made a public apology for sexual harassment of female employees and other female colleagues. The allegations, made by unidentified women in an Eater article, accused Batali of sexually harassing females through unwanted groping of their private parts, as well as making crude sexual comments. The report also alleged that 57-year-old Batali had been acting this way for at least 25 years. In addition to losing his hosting gig at “The Chew,” Batali has agreed to step down from his multiple businesses.

December 21, 2017 UPDATE: ABC announced on its website that Vallery Lomas had won the third season of “The Great American Baking Show.” The announcement was made on the day that the season finale would have aired.