posted on Feb, 23 2005 @ 08:37 AM
In an article in today's paper Salman Rushdie, the rather unfortunate author of "The Satanic Verses"(which led to a fatwa being issued upon him for
blaspheming Mohammed), has apparently come to like the idea of threatening the person of a writer who says something you don't like. This is all
rather amusing as this is the same Rushdie who begged the world to save him from those who would injure him and deprive him of his freedom of speech
and suppressing his creativity. I never did see the creative part of "The Satanic Verses", but at least the controversy sold millions of copies of a
rather mediocre and pretentious book. In the final analysis it would seem Mr Rushdie is cut from the same luxurious cloth as those pursuing him.
"By most accounts, Salman Rushdie seems to be a nice guy. It would hardly appear that the celebrated author is prone to violence. But when it came to
protecting his wife Padma Lakshmi's reputation, Rushdie reportedly threatened to beat up a New York Times reporter with a baseball bat.
It all started when NYT reporter Guy Trebay wrote a column on Lakshmi earlier this month. Trebay's strongly worded column 'Brand-Name Goddess Basks
in the Moment' -- published on February 8 -- compared Lakshmi to the Hindu goddess she was named after.
'One of the cool things about the goddess Lakshmi is her unabashed relationship to prosperity,' Trebay wrote. 'In the current fashion pantheon, Ms
Lakshmi similarly stands for a love of money and commodity. A burgeoning brand married to a global brand, she has no problem making public an
inventory of brands she chooses to wear to fashion shows.'"
"Naturally, Rushdie was mad as hell. British publications The Times and The Sun reported that the India-born author approached Trebay at a New York
function and screamed at him: 'If you ever write mean things about my wife again, I'll come after you with a baseball bat!' "