Hotelier Andre Balazs groped Jason Bateman's wife at his luxury London hangout the Chiltern Firehouse, it has been claimed.

In an article published by The New York Times on Thursday, Bateman and his wife Amanda Anka confirmed the incident and described it as 'vile'.

According to them and others who were there, Balazs, 60, committed the alleged assault after persuading Anka to climb up a fireman's ladder to reach a suite which had an impressive view of London.

Anka, 48, was wearing a red leather dress at the time and had been hesitant but he insisted, they said.

As she climbed up it, he stuck his hand up it and 'grabbed her crotch', they claimed.

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Jason Bateman and his wife Amanda Anka are pictured arriving back at their hotel after leaving the Chiltern Firehouse on November 12, 2014, following Balazs's alleged assault on her

Balazs, 60, has been accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women

Shocked, she told her husband what happened and he confronted the hotelier, spitting gum in his face and then leaving promptly.

It happened hours after the London premiere of Horrible Bosses 2 and Jennifer Anniston, Bateman's co-star, was present in the hotel at the time.

In their statement, a spokesman for the couple said: 'On behalf of Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka, we can confirm that the account of André Balazs’s outrageous and vile behavior on that night in London is factual.

'His actions were dealt with at the time.'

We can confirm the account of André Balazs’s outrageous and vile behavior on that night in London is factual Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka

Balazs has not commented on the allegations.

Among those who confirmed the assault to the Times was Charlie Day's wife Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

'I witnessed behavior by André Balazs that was inappropriate and offensive,' she said.

Balazs created The Standard Hotel brand and is also credited with the huge popularity of Chateau Marmont.

One of his other accusers is a former hotel employee who gave her name only as Sarah. She said she worked at the front desk at Chateau Marmont in the 1990s.

Friends who were there say Balazs persuaded Anka (seen leaving the hotel with red eyes) to climb the ladder in her short leather dress then stuck his hand on her crotch

Anka, pictured looking distressed as she left the club, confirmed Balazs' 'vile' behavior

The alleged grope happened as the stars celebrated at the Chiltern Firehouse, Balazs's London hotel

Charlie Day and his wife Mary Elizabeth Ellis were also present. They are pictured looking tense as they leave the hotel on the night in question. Mary confirmed the account, telling the Times: 'I witnessed behavior by André Balazs that was inappropriate and offensive'

In 1991, she alleges that Balazs forced himself on her after taking her for dinner in Korea town.

She claims he pushed her against a wall in a mud wrestling club, kissed her and shoved his hands down her trousers to insert his fingers in her vagina.

Another woman claims that he groped her from behind as she walked to the bathroom at a New York Fashion Week event in September 2013.

The woman, who did not giver her name because she has not told her father, a prominent New York individual, about the assault, said she laughed too out of awkwardness but was 'humiliated'.

Their accounts are contradicted by the 'professional', 'polite' and 'warm' man described by other employees including a former personal assistant who said she had never witnessed any such misconduct.

Also in the hotel that nigh was the film's star Jennifer Anniston and her husband Justin Theroux. It is not clear if they knew about Balazs's alleged assault on Anka

Balazs previously dated Uma Thurman. The pair are pictured in April 2015. He has not commented on the allegations against him

'He was professional and polite. It was about doing his job,' Elodie Trouche told the Times in his defense.

Balazs was married to Katie Ford, the daughter of modelling moguls Eileen and Gerard Ford, between 1985 and 2004. They have two children together.

He has long been rumored to be dating Uma Thurman but the actress insisted this August they were 'just friends'. The pair dated previously.

In July, he welcomed a son - his third child - with British socialite Cosima Vesey.

The pair were never a couple and the pregnancy was a surprise. In March this year, Balazs stepped down as chairman of the Standard hotel brand.

He has since told how he decided to 'simplify' his life after a jet-skiing accident near his home on Shelter Island.

Anka is the daughter of singer Paul Anka. She and Bateman, who is also 48, have been married since 2001 and have two daughters together; 11-year-old Francesca and five-year-old Maple.