The girlfriend of Anthony Bourdain at the time of his death is fiercely against the release of a biography detailing the darkest moments from the man's life.Charles Leerhsen's 'Down and Out In Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain' has garnered praise from many outlets for its pursuit of the truth on what led the chef and TV host to commit suicide in 2018.
The book, released on October 11, includes bombshell information not previously reported and texts between the couple leading up to Bourdain's death. Leerhsen reached out to Argento while writing the book and received a scathing reply in an email according to the book.
'It is always Judas who writes the biography,' Argento told the biographer. The Italian actor is named publicly in the acknowledgements as a source who 'did not mind being named.' Argento, however, later told The New York Times that she explicitly stated he could not share anything publicly that she told him via email correspondence. She said she 'wrote clearly to this man that he could not publish anything I said to him.
Down And Out In Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain will be released on October 11The actor and Italian 'X Factor' host also told the New York Times that she has not read the book. The controversial biography at times frames relationship discord with the actor as one of the major factors leading up to Bourdain's suicide.
Days before he took his own life, texts showed that the couple were fighting over an affair Argento was said to be having with journalist Hugo Clément. 'I am okay,' Bourdain said in messages shared in the book. 'I am not spiteful. I am not jealous that you have been with another man. I do not own you. You are free. As I said. As I promised. As I truly meant.'
What did appear to bother the chef was that the affair was taking place at a Rome hotel close to the couple's heart. 'But you were careless. You were reckless with my heart. My life.' Argento responded, 'I can't take this.' The actor then told Bourdain that she did not like how possessive he was of her and that their time together was over.
Bourdain responded, 'Is there anything I can do?' To which Argento said, 'Stop busting my balls.'Anthony Bourdain, photographed days before his death in June 2018, 'never stopped drinking despite overcoming a drug addiction' according to the bookLeerhsen does not shy away from using these messages, even starting his biography with the exchange.
Three months after Bourdain's death, Argento spoke with DailyMailTV while in the middle of facing intense public scrutiny. 'People say I murdered him. They say I killed him,' she said through tears in the interview.'People need to think that he killed himself for something like this? He had cheated on me too. It wasn't a problem for us. He was a man who traveled 265 days a year. We took great pleasure in each other's company when we saw each other. But we are not children. We are grown-ups.'
The author also took his job seriously when it came to research for the biography. Leerhsen at one point stayed in the exact same Paris hotel room where Bourdain took his own life. 'There's been some people who've criticized me, saying it's ghoulish or that I'm the kind of reporter who goes through people's garbage cans,' Leerhsen told The Associated Press.
'But all the best biographers — I wouldn't put myself in their ranks — but all the guys who win the prizes, they believe that you really need to go where the person was,' Leerhsen continued. Bourdain was filming his CNN show, 'Parts Unknown,' at the time of his death in June 2018. Sources who spoke to the author said that the host had left set 'multiple times to talk' to Argento on the phone and was distressed by the state of their relationship.
Hours before he took his own life, Bourdain asked: 'Is there anything I can do?' Argento replied: 'Stop busting my balls''Things escalated on Wednesday when by all accounts she told him she no longer wanted to be with him,' the book reads.
'Everyone was keeping an eye on him all day and night because he was incredibly distraught. More screaming phone calls through the day. By Thursday he seemed to be better and kind of wanted everyone to back off,' Leerhsen continues. Argento isn't the only person close to Bourdain who has come out against 'Down and Out In Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain.'
Christopher Bourdain, Anthony's brother, slammed the book's release and the use of personal information, including texts, emails, and private message.Christopher Bourdain, Anthony's brother, also slammed the biography as 'defamatory fiction'Christopher called the biography 'hurtful and defamatory fiction.'
The Los Angeles Times, however, said that Leerhsen had given advance copies to family members and friends who 'confirmed that my take on the Bourdain family dynamic is accurate.'Bourdain's family and Argento had previously challenged the book, accusing Leershen of multiple inaccuracies. Publisher Simon & Schuster stood by it. Leehrsen also defended his book as 'sympathetic' and 'true to the man.'
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