Val Kilmer calls Anthony Bourdain's death 'so selfish' in angry post

'You could have and should have given it one more shot'

Ilana Kaplan
Tuesday 12 June 2018 16:06 BST
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Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dies aged 61

Actor Val Kilmer wrote an angry Facebook post in response to Anthony Bourdain's sudden death - branding it "so selfish."

Kilmer went on the insensitive rant just hours after news surfaced that Bourdain had died by suicide on Friday.

"How many moments away were you from feeling the love that was universal," he wrote. "From every corner of the world you were loved. So selfish. You’ve given us cause to be so angry. A spiritual guide once told me suicide is the most selfish act a human can execute and I was confused but she explained there’s just no mental place further away from humanity and purpose than the hypnotised numbness that creates the false picture of despair, that forces the victim, unaware, to believe, life’s legacy is over."

Kilmer questioned how Bourdain's suicide happened asking, "So what? I hear you took your life in Paris. What hotel? Did you relapse? Did you just get home from the best meal of your life? Did you cheat on your girl?"

"Those of us that knew you are shocked and angry and angry and angry selfishly angry, for what you just did to us," he added. "Millions I should think. At least a million people like me who imagine they know you. Some imagine they know you even well."

The 58-year-old actor, who endured a two-year battle with throat cancer, asked: "Would you have taken your life two years ago when like me you were unable to take in food and move it with your tongue over your taste buds because your tongue was too swollen? Is too swollen? I think and dream and plan on eating and tasting and enjoying every meal I’ve ever enjoyed and every meal I’ve learned to enjoy in my imagination, Altho I’ve never met a meal I didn’t like in the last 40 years except anything with too much cilantro."

Kilmer concluded his post by saying, "You left too soon. And I'm going to prove it."

It was reported that Bourdain took his own life in France aged 61 on Friday.

Bourdain was celebrated for hosting television shows on the Food Network, the Travel Channel and later CNN.

His 2000 memoir Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly helped launch Bourdain's celebrity status.

The late chef's death was one of two high-profile suicides this week.

Designer Kate Spade, well-known for her handbags, also took her own life in New York on Tuesday.

Since Kilmer published the Facebook post, there have been conflicting reports about whether or not he and Bourdain knew each other personally.

The Independent has contacted Bourdain's Estate about this claim and is waiting for a response.

For confidential support call Samaritans on 116 123 or visit their website here. If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the following organisations for support: https://www.mind.org.uk/, http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, or https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/.

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