Anthony Bourdain Trashed Baby Driver & Ava DuVernay Was Not Here For It

Everybody has an opinion, and if there’s one thing celebrity chef and professional wanderluster Anthony Bourdain knows is how to wield a heavy critique.

The Parts Unknown host shared a pithy review of the critically acclaimed film, Baby Driver. True to form, he didn’t mince words.

“Fuck Baby Driver,” Bourdain tweeted about director Edgar Wright’s car chase movie. The tweet garnered a number of responses online. Many of which seemed surprised.

Though the most attention-grabbing response was from director and screenwriter, Ava DuVernay.

In response to Bourdain, the 13th director said,” You don't have to like it. But have some respect for the artists who made it. You're better than this. Critique doesn't have to be cruel.”

One could argue that Bourdain’s opinion, no matter how crass, is simply that, his opinion. Why bother? Who cares? What’s all the fuss? Though considering that Bourdain is not only a host, but a producer and writer with more than six million followers on Twitter, one would hope for a response with a bit more...heft?

After all, this is a public figure whose film tastes rival that of any pretentious film student, a trait he’s never shied away from sharing on his many shows (See the Rome episode of Parts Unknown, which was filled with Pasolini references).

Maybe let us know why it sucked, buddy? Bourdain’s cocky three-word review echoes the over-simplified tone that sadly, even our world leaders tend to default to online. So it’s no surprise that DuVernay, an active member of the film community, would take to Wright’s defense and ask Bourdain to give a more intelligent critique.

While Bourdain hasn't responded to DuVernay, hours later he tweeted out an image of another movie, one that gained the golden Bourdain stamp of approval.

"Quality," he tweeted alongside an image of the film The Raid. Then again, considering Bourdain's entire schtick is going against the grain, it's kind of only right he'd harshly criticize one of the most well-received films of 2017.