by Ruby Henley
Anthony Michael Bourdain (1956-2018) grew up in Leonia, New Jersey. His parents had colorful backgrounds in the classical music industry for Columbia Records and with THE NEW YORK TIMES.
Anthony, however, was a free spirit, owned nothing, and he loved wild adventures . In his own words he had nothing until his breakthrough job with CNN – suddenly the world opened up before him. He was able to travel, and he became beloved by the world as a travel-chef for CNN.
He was a humble and kind man who touched everyone with his sentimental demeanor. He had nothing to do with the elites and often ate with the staff of the exotic restaurants he frequented. Anthony had captured the hearts of many ordinary people around the world; thus, now they are mourning the loss of such a compassionate soul.
Anthony loved with all of his heart his girlfriend, Italian actress Asia Argento. She was one of the dozens of women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. Bourdain boldly tweeted, “Can we use the word ‘rapist’ now? #Weinstein.”
On May 25 Bourdain taunted Weinstein on Instagram –
As you can see, Anthony was not being closed mouthed about his anger toward Weinstein, and it brought him attacks from Weinstein supporters.
The following tweets were captured from social media –
freebeacon.com/culture/clinton-aides-gang-boyfriend-harvey-weinstein-accuser/
Anthony Bourdain
✔
@Bourdain
And I have to say, Hillary’s interview with Fareed Zakaria was shameful in its deflection and its disingenuousness.
7:31 PM – Oct 11, 2017
3,963
1,688 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Anthony Bourdain
✔
@Bourdain
know what Hillary Clinton is NOT? She’s not stupid. Or unsophisticated about the world. The Weinstein stories had been out there for years
7:40 PM – Oct 11, 2017
11.5K
6,873 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Anthony Bourdain
✔
@Bourdain
Mindless Hillary hate aside, this was a terrible response to questions about a “friend” who’s been tormenting women for decades.
7:46 PM – Oct 11, 2017
1,783
658 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Bourdain received a response from Hillary’s assistant Brian Fallon –
Go eat a scorpion or something.t.co/jlKBC2TDmI
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 12, 2017
Brian Fallon
Verified account
@brianefallon
Follow
Follow @brianefallon
More
Brian Fallon Retweeted Anthony Bourdain
Go eat a scorpion or something.
Brian Fallon added,
Anthony Bourdain
Verified account
@Bourdain
know what Hillary Clinton is NOT? She’s not stupid. Or unsophisticated about the world. The Weinstein stories had been out there for years
7:34 PM – 11 Oct 2017
405 Retweets
1,939 Likes
freebeacon.com/culture/clinton-aides-gang-boyfriend-harvey-weinstein-accuser/
Weinstein has donated thousands of dollars to Clinton throughout her political career. He maxed out donations ($5,400) to Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign and gave more than $30,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between Clinton’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and more than 30 state Democratic parties.
The Hollywood mogul has also given at least $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
Five days after the initial Times story broke, amid growing criticism, Clinton released a statement condemning Weinstein.
“I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein,” Clinton said in the statement. “The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior.”
Clinton then conducted an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, clips of which aired Wednesday night, in which the former presidential candidate said she would re-donate the money she received from Weinstein, but did not specify where it would go.
Bourdain, host of CNN’s “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” criticized Clinton for her tepid response on Wednesday night.
Bourdain had also spoken out about another Hollywood mogul. In the following article, he made it clear how he felt about Quentin Tarantino and his basically “selling out.” Bourdain was not a lover of the Hollywood elites, and that is very clear.
Anthony Bourdain ended a 75-minute Q&A at the Produced By NY conference with a swipe at director Quentin Tarantino in connection with the torrent of allegations of sexual assault leveled against Harvey Weinstein.
Bourdain, the renowned chef and the star and producer of CNN’s “Parts Unknown,” is dating actress-director Asia Argento, who has accused Weinstein of rape. She is one of more than 60 women who have come forward in the past few weeks with allegations of sexual assault and harassment from Weinstein going back more than 30 years.
Bourdain’s reference to Tarantino came as he was discussing his decision to turn down a big-money offer that would have involved merchandising and other ventures because he and his longtime producing partners did not feel comfortable with the person offering the deal.
Despite the fact that “it was a lot of money,” Bourdain and his partners Lydia Tenaglia and Chris Collins decided immediately after the meeting that the deal “would have been a slow-acting poison that would have nibbled away at our souls until we ended up like Quentin Tarantino, looking back at a life of complicity, shame and compromise.”
These are some of the highlights of Bourdain’s career, which give us insight into his plans and into the man Anthony Bourdain really was.
- Bourdain and Zero Point Zero are working on a scripted project. Bourdain said he enjoyed the experience of working with David Simon as a writer on the HBO series “Treme.”
- Bourdain’s globe-trotting productions remain a tight-knit effort with a small crew. “A Cook’s Tour” was filmed by Tenaglia and Collins “walking backwards through Asia with me,” he said.
- Today, there’s a core team of about five producers and five directors that rotate through various episodes for “Parts Unknown.”
- Tenaglia and Bourdain were effusive about the working relationship with CNN. “I’ve never received a phone call that began with the words ‘How about..,’ ” Bourdain said.
- Bourdain loves segments that have no dialogue and no voice-over, breaking the conventional rules of unscripted TV. “I think we’re up to three and a half minutes” as the longest dialogue-free segment, he said.
- Bourdain has no time for barbecue shows (“If you say I have to do a barbecue show next week I’m gone”) and he hates predictability in TV. “You’re 10 minute sin and you can see the hideous predictable trajectory of an arc,” he said. “I hate competent television.”
Again Bourdain was a free spirit, outspoken, highly creative, and a sincere soul, who will be missed by the “kindred spirits” of this world.
RIP Anthony Bourdain. God bless and keep you.