CNN’s Anthony Bourdain was found dead in a hotel room in France on Friday morning, and the news outlet spent a better part of the day talking about their former co-worker’s life.
But in those conversations came sadness, as it was reported early in the day from John Berman and Alisyn Camerota that Bourdain’s death was by suicide.
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Camerota, one of the many CNN anchors who shared their stories about working with and being friends with Bourdain, was overcome with emotion during a segment as she discussed her own battles with depression.
“Depression is so common,” Camerota said. “When you’re in it, you think that it will never lift. I’ve had dark days. I’ve had bouts of… in my 20s and early 30s, I’ve had a dark cloud that I thought wasn’t going to lift.”
“Sometimes it can be situational — a breakup, a loss of a job — but those things do change,” she added. “And time changes, and medication helps, and therapy helps. There are things out there for people who think they are in a downward spiral.”
As shared by the two anchors, CNN released its own statement confirming his death.
“It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain,” CNN wrote in a press release about the Parts Unknown host’s death. “His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time.”
Many CNN on-air personalities talked about Bourdain on their shows, as well as the hour-long Remembering Anthony Bourdain special that aired on Friday night.
Of those included Anderson Cooper, who was holding back tears during the opening minutes of the special. the topic of suicide was particularly personal for him, as his older brother committed suicide back in 1988.
“Honestly it’s hard to even talk about him in the past tense at this point,” Cooper said. “It’s really… yeah, it’s really hard to imagine. I mean, you never really know what goes on in anybody’s head, and you never know what goes on in anybody’s heart. But certainly, the pain the he must have been feeling, at least in that moment, or in those moments, and the loneliness he must have been feeling, it’s just terribly sad to think about. And it makes me very sad for him to have succumb to that.”
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
