Anthony Bourdain On Paula Deen: Hate Mail After Comments Was "Scary"

In the days following Anthony Bourdain's famous bashing last year of Food Network's resident butter-lover, Paula Deen, before her diabetes announcement, Bourdain tells Rolling Stone magazine that "scary" letters, e-mails and social media messages started pouring in.

Bourdain's comments, which were made during an interview with TV Guide, invited a great deal of media attention at the time. Particularly, his branding of Deen as the "worst, most dangerous person to America."

"It was the first time I've ever been frightened," he told Rolling Stone. "I don't know what my problem is, honestly. Why can't live and let live? It's a personal failing."

Bourdain has a history of speaking out on the perceived failings of other food-world celebrities -- and been on the receiving end of backlash for it -- but this would suggest that something about the Paula Deen diabetes scandal struck a particular chord with fans.

Why didn't the other feuds spark as much controversy? And believe us, there were no shortage of them. To date, Bourdain has targeted Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee. He once famously called Lee "pure evil" and the "frightening hell spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker [who] seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time."

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