Unauthorised Anthony Bourdain biography reveals his final texts with ex-girlfriend Asia Argento

The controversial book has been denounced by Bourdain’s brother who described it as “fabricated”.

A controversial new biography has revealed alleged texts Anthony Bourdain sent his ex-girlfriend, Asia Argento, hours before his death.

The texts sent to Italian actress Argento, are contained in an unauthorised biography by Charles Leerhsen titled, Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain.

Bourdain was 61 when he committed suicide in Alsace, France, in June 2018. The author and TV star was born in New York City but spent most of his childhood growing up in New Jersey. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and graduated in 1978. He then spent several years working in restaurants as a dishwasher before steadily moving up the ranks in the kitchen.

During his time in those restaurants, Bourdain would begin chronicling his experiences in what he called the “culinary underbelly.” In 1999, Bourdain’s writing was starting to garner attention. He published a well-received article in The New Yorker titled Don’t Eat Before Reading This, exposing some secrets of the culinary world. Due to the article’s popularity, he expanded on it in 2000 with his best-selling book Kitchen Confidential.

Though Bourdain had found success through his writing, it was his TV shows that really took the world by storm. From A Cook’s Tour to the Peabody Award-winning Parts Unknown, he explored cultures all over the world and captured the hearts of many.

However, Bourdain had a troubled private life and his 11-year marriage to Ottavia Busi-Bourdain ended in 2016. He then began dating Argento, but the relationship came to an end reportedly after Bourdain saw pictures of the actress dancing with a French journalist at a hotel in Rome. 

According to the biography, Bourdain wrote a text to Argento saying: “I am not spiteful. I am not jealous that you have been with another man. I do not own you. You are free. As I said. As I promised. As I truly meant. But you were careless. You were reckless with my heart. My life.”

Bourdain was particularly upset that the situation took place at Hotel de Russie, which held strong romantic memories of their own relationship. Argento then ended their relationship as she regarded Bourdain as possessive.

The book has been heavily criticised and disregarded by Bourdain’s friends, family and co-workers. His brother, Christopher Bourdain sent Simon and Schuster two emails in August describing the book as hurtful and defamatory fiction and demanding that it not be released until Leerhsen’s misinformation was corrected.

“Every single thing he writes about relationships and interactions within our family as kids and as adults he fabricated or got totally wrong,” he said in an interview with the New York Times. Vice President and senior counsellor for the publisher, Felice Javit, responded to Christopher Bourdain with an email: “With all due respect, we disagree that the material in the Book contains defamatory information, and we stand by our forthcoming publication.”

Writer
Chris Saunders
Banner Image Credit
Instagram / Anthony Bourdain