Yahoo Movies Padma Lakshmi wishes ex-husband Salman Rushdie 'swift healing' after 'nightmare' attack
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Padma Lakshmi is offering words of support to ex-husband Salman Rushdie as he recovers from a brutal attack.
The Top Chef star shared her relief in the wake of the "nightmare" after the Satanic Verses author was taken off a ventilator over the weekend.
In an emotional post, the 51-year-old shared that she was "worried and wordless" but "can finally exhale."
"Relieved @SalmanRushdie is pulling through after Friday's nightmare," she wrote on Sunday. "Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing."
Relieved @SalmanRushdie is pulling through after Friday’s nightmare. Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing.
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) August 14, 2022
The two began a relationship in 1999 before marrying in 2004 and splitting in 2007.
Lakshmi's words come after it was revealed the 75-year-old was on the road to recovery after being stabbed onstage ahead of a scheduled lecture in upstate New York.
His son Zafar Rushdie said in a statement on Sunday that the writer was on the mend. "We are extremely relieved that yesterday he was taken off the ventilator and additional oxygen and he was able to say a few words," he said in a statement.
"Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humour remains intact," he added. "We are so grateful to all the audience members who bravely leapt to his defense and administered first aid along with the police and doctors who have cared for him and for the outpouring of love and support from around the world."
Rushdie was stabbed 10 times by his attacker, who has been identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar. The author is recovering from a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and is expected to lose an eye.
Hadi Matar has been identified as the attacker. The 24-year-old rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie 10 times during the event. He was arrested at the scene.
Matar, who was arrested at the scene, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault in what authorities believe was a planned attack.
"This was a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack on Mr. Rushdie," District Attorney Jason Schmidt said, according to the Associated Press.
Rushdie has been the subject of death threats since The Satanic Verses was published in 1988. Inspired by Islamic prophet Muhammad, the book was banned in Iran and led to the country's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini setting a $3 million reward for Rushdie's death.
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