In a newly published interview conducted in February, Anthony Bourdain ruminated on the eventual death of Harvey Weinstein.
Bourdain gave a prolonged interview with Maria Bustillos for the new site Popula. In it, he discussed everything from his work to his personal philosophies on travel and tourism, to the topical issues of the day. That included the latest developments in the Me Too movement, where Bourdain slammed Weinstein and some other prominent men in no uncertain terms. He even took the time to imagine how the disgraced producer might leave this world.
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“However much people might want to see Harvey Weinstein dead or in jail, he’s in f—ing Arizona,” Bourdain mused. “He is in Arizona, eating in restaurants in Arizona… he can’t even eat at the best sushi restaurant in Scottsdale. He’s gotta go to some s— f—ing place. So Arizona, I mean, as much as I’d like to see him, you know beaten to death in his cell—”
“It’s much better to watch horrible people live and suffer the consequences,” Bustillos said. At that point, Bourdain began to theorize about the fate that might befall Weinstein.
“My theory of how he goes is uh, he’s brushing his teeth in a bathroom, he’s naked in his famous bathrobe, which is flapping open, he’s holding his cell phone in one hand because you never know who on the Weinstein board has betrayed him recently, and he’s brushing his teeth—he suddenly gets a massive fucking stroke—he stumbles backwards into the bathtub, where he finds himself um, with his robe open feet sticking out of the tub, and in his last moments of consciousness as he scrolls through his contacts list trying to figure out who he can call, who will actually answer the phone,” he said.
“And he dies that way, knowing that no one will help him and that he is not looking his finest at time of death.”
The moment marked the very end of Bourdain’s interview. It is a haunting send-off for the beloved figure, who would take his own life just four months later. Bourdain had reason to be particularly angry at Weinstein, as his girlfriend was one of Weinstein’s most prominent accusers.
By all accounts, Bourdain and Asia Argento were desperately in love in the time leading up to his passing, and that comes through in this interview as well. However, Weinstein was not the only Me Too figure he took aim at, as he let his true feelings on Bill Clinton be known as well.
“A piece of s—,” he declared. “Entitled, rapey, gropey, grabby, disgusting, and the way that he—and [Hillary Clinton]—destroyed these women and the way that everyone went along, and, and are blind to this! Screamingly apparent hypocrisy and venality.”
Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in France back in June. He was 61 years old.
