Todd English’s spin doctors have pulled a page from the Gwyneth Paltrow book of crisis management, penning a letter demanding that “friends, colleagues and partners” not participate in a newspaper exposé about the hard-partying celebrity chef.
Page Six reported in March how boozy English’s ex threw a drink in his face after she caught him canoodling with two women at a club. The Post also published a photo of the sweaty chef in a hot tub with three topless beauties. His antics led to him losing control of restaurant Olives at the W Union Square to the Gerber Group.
English rep Lindsey Valdez e-mailed his friends and associates, insisting that they not cooperate with the New York Times for a planned story on bad-boy celebrity chefs focused on English. The move recalled how Paltrow asked friends not to participate in a planned Vanity Fair profile of her last fall.
“It is clear he [the writer] is trying to create a story by attempting to link unrelated items and repurposing juvenile gossip,” Valdez wrote.
Valdez claimed English has been “dragged through the dirt by several media outlets” and that “this incessant and unfounded character assassination needs to come to an end.
“He did not break any laws. He did not cause harm to anyone. He did not put anyone in danger. He did not verbally offend anyone. The only thing he did was act ‘inappropriately.’ He is a single man who had one too many drinks. This is NOT a story.”
Valdez went on: “His passion for the culinary arts and his dedication to the development of the American culinary landscape should be the focus of a story, not gossip mongering that . . . affects individuals, friends and business partners.”
The Times had no comment. When we reached out to Valdez, she simply wrote back, “You guys are the worst.”
Meanwhile, English was seen leaving Omar’s in the West Village Thursday with an unidentified woman. A spy said, “He was the last to leave. And he left with a girl. But he didn’t come with her.”