The late great Anthony Bourdain was no stranger to speaking his mind. His takedown of fellow celebrity chef (and later proven charlatan) Paula Dean is legendary. His distain for certain fast food chains and love of meat in tubular form equally so.
But what, pray tell, did the 6’4 author think of certain political figures? Someone like say…Vladimir Putin?
The answer to that comes from a clip from CNN’s “Parts Unknown” season 3, episode 6. It aired on May 11th, 2014. Bourdain sits with his Russian friend Zamir Gotta, who fans of Bourdain’s other shows know always means vodka. Lots and lots of vodka.
“A former mid-level manager in a large corporation. Short [he nods]. I think that’s very important. Short. Who has found himself…master of the universe. And like a lot of short people, if you piss him off, bad things happen to you. He likes to take his shirt off a lot. He strikes me as a businessman. Like Donald Trump. [he turns to the camera] But shorter.”
And just so you don’t think he was fond of or supported Putin in anyway- a 2014 interview Bourdain did with Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. They discuss the role corruption plays in politics in the country. Nemtsov was assassinated not far from the Kremlin in 2015.
Never forget what kind of man Putin is. And never forget what kind of man Bourdain was.
