Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been accused of sexual misconduct by four women over two decades, and has stepped away from his restaurant business and ABC television show “The Chew.”

The four women, some of whom worked with Batali, detailed his alleged groping and sexually suggestive comments to Eater in a story published Monday. Some of the inappropriate behavior occurred while they were at work, the unnamed women said.

Batali told Eater in a statement that the allegations “match up” with how he has behaved.

“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt,” he said. “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.”

The statement continued: “I have work to do to try to regain the trust of those I have hurt and disappointed. For this reason, I am going to step away from day-to-day operations of my businesses. We built these restaurants so that our guests could have fun and indulge, but I took that too far in my own behavior. I won’t make that mistake again. I want any place I am associated with to feel comfortable and safe for the people who work or dine there.”

ABC said it asked Batali to take leave from his cooking show in light of the allegations.

“We have asked Mario Batali to step away from The Chew while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention,” the network said in a statement. “ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment. While we are unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with the show, we will swiftly address any alleged violations of our standards of conduct.”

Batali cooked former President Barack Obama’s final state dinner at the White House in October 2016. Former first lady Michelle Obama invited Batali to be the guest chef for the dinner that honored Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy.

He had been a longtime supporter of the former first lady’s “Let Move” initiative.

Batali is the latest in a string of prominent men to be accused of sexual harassment or misconduct in the workplace. Last week, Sen. Al Franken, Rep. John Conyers, and Rep. Trent Franks announced their resignations from Congress amid various accusations of inappropriate behavior.

Kara Zupkus contributed to this report.