I've known a number of people who ran into him that said he was really chill, but who knows. Most really toxic dickheads are really great at putting on the nice

I've known a number of people who ran into him that said he was really chill, but who knows. Most really toxic dickheads are really great at putting on the nice guy show when it benefits them. That said, everybody has bad days, and it's pretty clear he had some giant mental health issues to contend with. I have too, and while I've always been more of a social harmony type, I hope there aren't too many that judge me based on my worst days. I imagine the people that actually worked for him would probably know best, and given his status, I doubt someone that had terrible experiences would be particularly willing to step forward. I will say though that I heard a lot of really negative shit about Mario Batalli a-decade-and-a-half before he was publicly shamed for it, and never the same for Bourdain.