Angela Weiss / AFP(LEBANON) — Yes, the real Russell Crowe has stood up, after a “very generous” donation appeared on an online fundraising page for a beloved Beirut restaurant called LeChef, which suffered damage from last week’s deadly explosion.
A journalist called Richard Hall was one of the fundraisers’ organizers, and he tweeted that “someone called Russell Crowe made a very generous donation to our Le Chef fundraiser. But not sure if it’s *the* @russellcrowe.”
Turns out it was.
The restaurant was a favorite of the late Anthony Bourdain, who visited it in 2006 on his Emmy-winning No Reservations show — and that evidently led the Oscar winner to pitch in.
“On behalf of Anthony Bourdain,” Crowe said, confirming his identity. “I thought that he would have probably done so if he was still around. I wish you and LeChef the best and hope things can be put back together soon.”
The Unhinged star donated $5,000 towards the fundraiser’s goal of $15,000 — it’s only $800 away from that benchmark.
The Beirut blast killed at least 135 people, and injured thousands.
Bourdain died by suicide in 2018.
By Stephen Iervolino
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