American TV celebrity and food writer Anthony Bourdain has been found dead in his hotel room in France. He was 61. (June) AP
Rose McGowan has penned a statement about the decision to take one's life, pleading with people not to place blame following Anthony Bourdain's suicide.
The message was written on behalf of Asia Argento, Bourdain's girlfriend, who said McGowan wrote the lines at her request.
"On behalf of me and all who are hurting because of this unfathomable loss, I have asked the strongest woman I know, Rose McGowan, to be my voice, to help me shoulder this burden and write truth," she said in a separate statement issued to USA TODAY. "Please read these words and have mercy on our pain."
McGowan said Argento sat across the table from her as she composed the message, going on to call the Italian actress a "remarkable human and brave survivor."
Bourdain and Argento, who joins McGowan as one of dozens of Harvey Weinstein accusers, crossed paths in 2016, when she appeared on his show, Parts Unknown.
"(Argento) stood up to her monster rapist and now she has to stand up to yet another monster, suicide," McGowan wrote. "The suicide of her beloved lover and ally, Anthony Bourdain." Bourdain was a vocal Me Too advocate, championing Argento's work with the movement.
CNN reported that Bourdain's friend, chef Eric Ripert, found him unresponsive in his hotel room in eastern France Friday where he was filming.
McGowan highlighted a mutual fascination the couple had with ending their lives and Bourdain's battle with depression. "In the beginning of their relationship, Anthony told a mutual friend, 'He’s never met anyone who wanted to die more than him,'" wrote McGowan. "And through a lot of this last year, Asia did want the pain to stop. But here’s the thing, over their time together, thankfully, she did the work to get help, so she could stay alive and live another day for her and her children."
According to McGowan, Bourdain sought help before his death, but "did not take the doctor’s advice."
She also urged people not to blame Argento. "Do NOT do the sexist thing and burn a woman on the pyre of misplaced blame," she wrote. "Anthony’s internal war was his war, but now she’s been left on the battlefield to take the bullets. It is in no way fair or acceptable to blame her or anyone else, not even Anthony."
Several media outlets reported that Argento had been photographed with someone else in Rome a few days before Bourdain's death, questioning whether the two were still together.
In the statement, McGowan said the pair had "a free relationship."
"They loved without borders of traditional relationships, and they established the parameters of their relationship early on. Asia is a free bird, and so was Anthony."
The statement is a change for McGowan who appeared angry with Bourdain in a tweet Friday that has since been deleted.
"Anthony I am so mad at you," she wrote after learning of his death. "You were so loved, the world is not better without you."
Anthony Bourdain’s second wife is speaking out about their “strong and brave” young daughter, in the wake of the star’s death. Veuer's Nathan Rousseau Smith has more. Buzz60
Bourdain’s ex-wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, who he was married to from 2007-2016, also spoke out about the loss on Instagram early Monday morning. She shared a photo of their 11-year-old daughter, Ariane, behind a microphone onstage, clad in studded, knee-high boots. The photo was tagged at the music venue DROM, located in New York City.
“Our little girl had her concert today,” she captioned the image, not mentioning Bourdain by name. “She was amazing. So strong and brave.
“She wore the boots you bought her,” she added. “I hope you are having a good trip, wherever you are.”
Bourdain's mom, Gladys Bourdain, has also spoken out about her son's death. In a phone interview with Today shared on Monday's broadcast, the former editor for The New York Times said there was "Not a one (sign), ever" that something was off.
Gladys, who said the last contact she received from her son came via a Mother's Day email, told the Times that according to Ripert “Tony had been in a dark mood these past couple of days.” Still, she couldn't fathom why he would end his life. “He had everything,” she told the Times. “Success beyond his wildest dreams. Money beyond his wildest dreams.”
If you know someone who is thinking about suicide call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
