Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dies aged 61, after ‘taking own life’. He was found dead in a hotel room in Strasbourg, France, where he had been working on an upcoming episode of his programme. His close friends are shocked, hurt, even angry.

News of his death was announced by CNN, who he presented the award-winning Parts Unknown series for.

Actor Val Kilmer wrote an angry Facebook post in response to Anthony Bourdain’s sudden death – branding it “so selfish”, just hours after news surfaced that Bourdain had died by suicide on Friday.

“How many moments away were you from feeling the love that was universal,” he wrote. “From every corner of the world, you were loved. So selfish. You’ve given us cause to be so angry. A spiritual guide once told me suicide is the most selfish act a human can execute and I was confused but she explained there’s just no mental place further away from humanity and purpose than the hypnotised numbness that creates the false picture of despair, that forces the victim, unaware, to believe, life’s legacy is over.”

Kilmer questioned how Bourdain’s suicide happened, asking, “So what? I hear you took your life in Paris. What hotel? Did you relapse? Did you just get home from the best meal of your life? Did you cheat on your girl?”

“Those of us that knew you are shocked and angry and angry and angry selfishly angry, for what you just did to us,” he added. “Millions I should think. At least a million people like me who imagine they know you. Some imagine they know you even well.”

The 58-year-old actor, who endured a two-year battle with throat cancer, asked: “Would you have taken your life two years ago when like me you were unable to take in food and move it with your tongue over your taste buds because your tongue was too swollen? Is too swollen? I think and dream and plan on eating and tasting and enjoying every meal I’ve ever enjoyed and every meal I’ve learned to enjoy in my imagination, Altho I’ve never met a meal I didn’t like in the last 40 years except anything with too much cilantro.”

Kilmer concluded his post by saying, “You left too soon. And I’m going to prove it.”

In the wake of Anthony Bourdain’s death, his girlfriend Asia Argento has shared an emotional tribute to the late chef. The Italian actress and director, 42, asked for privacy while she grieves the loss of Bourdain, whom she referred to as “my love, my rock, my protector.”
In the heartbreaking statement, which Argento shared on Twitter, she wrote: “Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated. My thoughts are with this family. I would ask that you respect their privacy and mine,” she continued.

The pair started dating in 2016, after meeting while Bourdain was filming episodes of his CNN series Parts Unknown in Rome.
Since then, the celebrity chef had been a fierce supporter of his girlfriend, who is one of the dozens of women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment.
After going public with her story in October, Bourdain, who was also outspoken in his support of the #MeToo movement, had publicly commended his girlfriend’s strength numerous times.
Immediately after sharing her own allegations against Weinstein, Bourdain wrote on Twitter: “I am proud and honoured to know you. You just did the hardest thing in the world.”
Following Argento’s speech at the Cannes Film Festival on the same subject, Bourdain told IndieWire: “It was absolutely fearless to walk right into the lion’s den and say what she said, the way she said it.
“It was an incredibly powerful moment, I thought. I am honoured to know someone who has the strength and fearlessness to do something like that.”
The impact of the #MeToo movement also prompted Bourdain to reflect on his own actions and whether they may have unintentionally contributed to a male-centred culture in the restaurant world.
Referring to his best-selling memoir “Kitchen Confidential,” Bourdain questioned the role the book may have had in supporting a male-oriented environment during an interview with Slate.
“I’ve had to ask myself, and I have been for some time, ‘To what extent in that book did I provide validation to meatheads?
“You know, to the extent that I was that guy, however fast and however hard I tried to get away from it, the fact is that’s what my persona was,” Bourdain said, referring to his “bad boy” image. “I am a guy on TV who sexualises food. Who uses bad language. Who thinks our discomfort, our squeamishness, fear and discomfort around matters sexual is funny. I have done stupid offensive s**t.”
The feminist chef also shared his feelings on the #MeToo movement in an essay posted on Medium, where he said that he was “grateful” for the courage of women and that he stands “unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women.”
“I am grateful to them for their courage and inspired by them. That doesn’t make me any more enlightened than any other man who has begun listening and paying attention. It does make me, I hope, slightly less stupid,” he wrote.
But all that is now dust and ashes, after he took his own life. Why? That’s what so many want to know

  Anthony Bourdain, Media, suicide