Actress Asia Argento published a brief tribute Friday after her boyfriend Anthony Bourdain committed suicide in France, calling the celebrity chef “my love, my rock, my protector.”
“Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did,” she said.
“His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated My thoughts are with his family. I would ask that you respect their privacy and mine.”
“Rumors of their romance first sprang up more than a year ago in February 2017 after the two crossed paths for an episode of Bourdain’s show. Argento was featured prominently throughout the Season 8 finale episode of Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, shot in Rome,” reports E!Online.
Argento was one of the earliest Hollywood stars to accuse disgraced movie maker Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
The Italian actress, who has said she was raped by Weinstein at the Cannes film festival, made an emotional speech at this year’s edition — the first since the scandal about his behavior erupted.
“This festival was his hunting ground,” the 42-year-old star told the festival’s award ceremony, where she presented the best actress prize.
Argento says she was 21 when she was attacked by Weinstein in his hotel room in 1997.
“He was seated among you… But things have changed. We are not going to allow you to get away with it,” she added.
Bourdain, an advocate for women’s rights and the #MeToo movement, publicly supported Argento and attacked Weinstein’s longtime collaborator Quentin Tarantino for his “complicity.”
“I am proud and honored to know you. You just did the hardest thing in the world,” the chef tweeted to Argento in October 2017.
The Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
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