Asia Argento spoke out about her late boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, in her first interview since his death by suicide in June.
“The anger kept me alive because, otherwise, this desperation has no end, there’s no end,” the actress, 43, said with tears in her eyes on Daily Mail TV on Monday, September 24. “I was angry, yes, for abandoning me, my kids. But now it’s been replaced just by this loss, this hole that cannot be filled by anything.”
Argento shares daughters Anna, 17, and Nicola, 10, with Marco Castoldi and ex-husband Michele Civetta, respectively. Bourdain is survived by daughter Ariane, 11, with estranged wife Ottavia Busia.
The Parts Unknown host hanged himself in his hotel room in France on June 8 at the age of 61. Later that day, Argento paid tribute to him in a statement shared on her Twitter account: “Anthony gave all of himself in everything that he did. 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.”
Bourdain had publicly supported the xXx star in October 2017 after she accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, which the disgraced movie mogul, 66, denied. “@AsiaArgento I am proud and honored to know you,” the celebrity chef tweeted at the time. “You just did the hardest thing in the world.”
Argento was later caught up in her own scandal. The New York Times reported in August that she quietly arranged to pay off former child actor Jimmy Bennett after he claimed she sexually assaulted him in 2013 when he was 17. She denied the claim before making similar allegations against Bennett, now 22, whose lawyer, Gordon K. Sattro, went on to call Argento “hypocritical.”
Argento will further address the Bennett scandal on Daily Mail TV on Tuesday, September 25.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
