CNN’s food critic Anthony Bourdain, the award-winning host of food series “Parts Unknown,” committed suicide in his hotel room in France Friday morning. Bourdain was 61.
French chef Eric Ripert found his friend’s body in a hotel room Friday morning. Bourdain reportedly hanged himself from a doorknob.
CNN reports Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his series.
“Tony was an exceptional talent,” CNN President Jeff Zucker said in an email to employees. “Tony will be greatly missed not only for his work but also for the passion with which he did it.”
The Smithsonian once called him “the original rock star” of the culinary world, “the Elvis of bad boy chefs.”
Bourdain’s death is the second high-profile suicide in one week. Fashion icon Kate Spade took her own life in a similar manner in her Upper East Side New York City apartment on Monday.
A housekeeper found Spade’s body with a suicide note addressed to her 13-year-old daughter nearby. Spade reportedly used a red scarf to hang herself from a doorknob.
In 2016, deaths by suicide more than doubled from the previous year. In 2018, suicides are on pace to eclipse 2016’s rates.
Suicide is never the answer. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or thoughts of harming yourself, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. There is someone waiting to talk to you 24 hours a day.
