Freelance reporter David Leavitt caused a wave of outrage on social media Friday after insulting celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain after it was reported the 61-year-old had died by suicide.
Bourdain’s beef with Leavitt started back in May 2017 when he made a joke about the shooting at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England that resulted in the deaths of 22 people.
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The Parts Unknown host responded to Leavitt’s joke by writing, “You sir, are a steaming, gaping a—hole.”
The reporter took a screengrab of that tweet and posted it on Friday, writing, “Selfishly taking your own life and hurting your friends and family makes you the steaming, gaping a—hole Anthony Bourdain.”
Selfishly taking your own life and hurting your friends and family makes you the steaming, gaping asshole Anthony Bourdain. pic.twitter.com/hBOxQ1W32e
— David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) June 8, 2018
But that was just one of many tweets Leavitt wrote about suicide on Friday afternoon. He even went so far as to say Bourdain was now in Hell.
If you’re religious, then you believe there’s a special place in hell or purgatory for people like Anthony Bourdain who take their own lives.
— David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) June 8, 2018
“If you’re religious, then you believe there’s a special place in hell or purgatory for people like Anthony Bourdain who take their own lives.”
Leavitt’s first tweet about Bourdain resulted in more than 13,000 responses, most of which were chastising him for the tweet.
Um, seek help. You don’t know what mental issues he was dealing with. To post this on the day of his passing illustrates that he was in fact correct. Seriously, you need help.
— Masked Man (@Former_CAM) June 8, 2018
“Um, seek help,” one Twitter user wrote. “You don’t know what mental issues he was dealing with. To post this on the day of his passing illustrates that he was in fact correct. Seriously, you need help.”
I truly hope you spend the rest of your life chopping weeds by the side of the highway in whatever part of the southeast has the most mosquitoes.
— Kaleb Horton (@kalebhorton) June 8, 2018
“I truly hope you spend the rest of your life chopping weeds by the side of the highway in whatever part of the southeast has the most mosquitoes,” wrote another.
Nice that, with one tweet, he can prove Bourdain irrevocably correct in his assessment
— Rostopher (@RostopherJ) June 8, 2018
“Nice that, with one tweet, he can prove Bourdain irrevocably correct in his assessment,” one commenter wrote, referencing the celebrity chef’s original comment.
This tweet is awful. You should be ashamed of yourself. It made me sick to my stomach. AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO IS IN HEAVEN, but many more tweets like this and I suspect you are making it harder on yourself to get there.
— GregHale1 (@GregHale1) June 8, 2018
“This tweet is awful. You should be ashamed of yourself. It made me sick to my stomach. AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO IS IN HEAVEN, but many more tweets like this and I suspect you are making it harder on yourself to get there,” a Twitter user emphatically wrote.
Numerous comments also claimed they were reporting the tweet to Twitter, as well as demanding he take it down.
According to Social Blade, Leavitt had lost nearly 3,000 followers in a day as a result of the tweets.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
