This post contains discussion of suicide.
Anthony Bourdain was a highly respected and publicly revered figure in the culinary and TV worlds. His death in June of 2018 from suicide was considered a great tragedy, as well as a loss for culture at large.
Paula Deen is a TV personality and restaurateur who was dropped from the Food Network and lost several endorsement deals in 2013, after she admitted to having used the N-word in the past during a deposition related to a racial discrimination lawsuit she was facing at the time.
So, a new documentary about Paula — Canceled: The Paula Deen Story — just premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. Entertainment Weekly reports that, amidst other subjects (including the N-word controversy), the doc revisits a public feud between Anthony and Paula.
As the doc shows, Anthony was the furthest thing from a fan of Paula’s cooking and overall deal. The doc reportedly features footage in which, in 2011, he referred to her as the “worst, most dangerous person in America” and later criticized her endorsement of a type-2 diabetes drug after she revealed her diagnosis in 2012. He also once claimed it would take “nuclear war” for him to eat Paula’s cooking.
“He started something with me, and I’d never even met him,” Paula says of the feud in the documentary. At another point, she remarks, “Anthony Bourdain did call me the most dangerous woman in America.”
If those comments sound fairly innocuous, then I would entreat you to consider the following comment she reportedly makes in the documentary regarding Anthony’s death: “God rest his soul. I felt like he didn’t like anybody. Not even himself, maybe.”
Jeeee-sus Christ. So much for that sense of Southern hospitality you hear so much about!
Dial 988 in the United States to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365. Your conversations are free and confidential. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.