Horses Chef Accused of Abuse and Killing Cats in Divorce Filing

This story mentions physical violence toward people and details violence toward animals.

Horses chef and co-owner Liz Johnson has accused her husband and co-owner Will Aghajanian of abuse, as well as killing the family’s cats, in a divorce filing, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Johnson filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Aghajanian in November 2022, where she alleged that her husband physically assaulted her and killed cats. Aghajanian denied the claims in court filings calling them “false allegations.” Over the past few days, anonymous posters as well as industry insiders and journalists have been alluding to rumors around alleged behaviors from the Horses chef-co-owners.

According to court filings, Johnson said that the family cat she took to a local shelter was seriously wounded, with the shelter alleging the cat was abused, an accusation that Aghajanian denied. Johnson also alleged that Aghajanian had attempted to feed the cat to coyotes because he didn’t like it, according to the filing. Johnson also said she caught Aghajanian “violently shaking the cat late at night,” whereupon the pet died the next day. “Will put the dead cat in the trash and insisted on keeping the corpse in the house,” said Johnson. Johnson also claims in the filings that Aghajanian’s mental and psychological abuse kept her from realizing what he was doing to the cats. It’s unclear whether Horses is open for business but as of this afternoon, there were still a few reservations available on Resy.

After the story was published, the LA Times added comments from Aghajanian. Responding to the allegations of domestic and animal abuse, he said that he “loved cats, mice. And every other animal under gods/allah whatever each religion calls him/her and have loved all animals since I was a child.” He continued, “I have problems killing lobster, and usually try to do it in the most humane way possible.” Aghajanian also told the Times that he believed Johnson was “trying to take my businesses away from me through divorce,” and making up false narratives. He alleged Johnson, “falsely accuses me of things that she has done or that she threatened to do to me and my pets. My pets are like children to me and I love them dearly.”

Horses opened in September 2021 in the former Pikey/Ye Coach & Horses space, a nearly 90-year-old building that had operated as a legendary Hollywood restaurant and dive bar for decades. Johnson and Aghajanian brought a lengthy and celebrated resume from their time as co-chefs of Nashville’s celebrated Catbird Seat tasting menu restaurant. They were reportedly ousted from that restaurant a year later, but not before being nominated as co-Rising Star Chefs by the James Beard Award Foundation. Johnson also gained a James Beard nomination for her tenure at Freedman’s in Silver Lake.

Horses was an instant Hollywood celebrity favorite and earned positive reviews from the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Though it wasn’t known when it opened, Eater LA reported in August 2022 that former Spotted Pig and Hearth & Hound owner Ken Friedman, who was accused of sexual harassment in 2017, was alleged to have been a partner in Horses. Both Johnson and Aghajanian denied that Friedman was involved in Horses.

Johnson’s restraining order was approved in December 2022 and then renewed on May 1, 2023 by a judge. Per the LA Times, Aghajanian has been ordered to stay at least 100 feet away from Johnson and her three dogs. Aghajanian filed his own restraining order alleging Johnson misled the court and requested custody of two of the dogs. He also claimed he was a victim of long-term abuse. At the time of publication, Johnson and Aghajanian were still listed as chefs and co-owners of the restaurant on Resy.

Update, Wednesday, May 17, 3:55 pm: This article was updated to reflect additional comments from Aghajanian via the LA Times.