Anthony Bourdain "was an activist for Armenian Genocide recognition"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Late TV star and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain had become a staunch activist for recognition of the Armenian Genocide before his tragic death, System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian revealed in an interview with The Rolling Stone.

Bourdain, the host of his widely successful television show, tragically took his own life earlier this year during production of its 11th season. Before that, however, he took a trip to Armeniato film an episode for his show. Tankian was instrumental in getting Bourdain to come to Armenia.

"It was tough losing Tony. Really, really tough. I just knew him for that week and a few calls and e-mails, but f*ck — I had no idea. Then Chris Cornell the same year and the same method. It threw me out of my orbit," the artist said.

"He was amazing. He was always trying to understand the culture, the geopolitics, the societal effects. He’s like, “What’s really happening here?” He was talking to young and old people, getting multiple opinions. He became a staunch activist for recognition of the Armenian genocide. We mentioned it to him, but it wasn’t the core of our conversation. I remember the night before the show, he sat down with Anderson Cooper on CNN, and Tony was just like, 'How is this possible that we’re in this kind of country and we’re denying this genocide that the whole world knows about? I cannot believe this is happening.'

"That blew me away: his hate of injustice and hypocrisy. I loved that about him. He was so f*cking ballsy. That’s why I reached out to him in the first place and wanted him to go to Armenia. I knew that that’s how he was and I was not disappointed. We had a great time."