In the eight months since the #MeToo movement resurfaced, the women coming forward with spectrum-spanning stories of mistreatment found an ally in a man that had previously been more associated with food than feminism.
« I stand unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women, » Bourdain wrote in December 2017. « Not out of virtue, or integrity, or high moral outrage — as much as I’d like to say so — but because late in life, I met one extraordinary woman with a particularly awful story to tell, who introduced me to other extraordinary women with equally awful stories. »
Bourdain and Argento, an actress and filmmaker, met while filming an episode of his CNN show, « Parts Unknown, » in Rome.
When stories began emerging in the food world — « a brutal, oppressive business that was historically unfriendly to women, » Bourdain once said — he remained steadfast in his dedication to believing and listening to women.
« Look, no matter how much I admire someone or respected their work, I’m pretty much Ming the Merciless on this issue right now, » he told « Daily Show » host Trevor Noah . « I’m not in a forgiving state of mind. I mean, that sh** ain’t OK. »
The movement, Bourdain said, had caused him to start « reexamining » his past.
« I look back, like, I hope, a lot of men in that industry and say — not so much ‘what did I do or not do?’ — but ‘what did I see and what did I let slide? What did I not notice?' » he said.
Bourdain also joked of his 2000 book, « Kitchen Confidential »: « I wrote sort of the meathead bible for restaurant employees and chefs. » (Bourdain earlier this year noted that he had not been part of the restaurant business in nearly 20 years.)
As part of his role as a male ally to the movement, Bourdain was particularly critical of those who he perceived to be misguided on the issues relating to #MeToo and remained pessimistic about people’s ability to change.
« I think, unfortunately, it’s unrealistic to expect people who have been in the business a long time — men, in particular — to change their hearts and minds…. I would hope that they do, but I’m just not that optimistic about the human race, » he told CNN’s Poppy Harlow in an interview on « New Day. »
He added: « What we are learning now is that to stay silent has a real cost…. You will be asked what you did when you saw this. Whether you have a good heart or not, I think the reality of the situation in this rapidly changing field is that people will be forced to do the right thing. »
Bourdain himself once wrote that « in these current circumstances, one must pick a side. » He’d clearly chosen his.
