Padma Lakshmi sends support and prompt recovery to her ex-husband Salman Rushdie

Padma Lakshmi is sending support and prompt recovery to her ex-husband Salman Rushdie, who was recently stabbed in upstate New York. The Indian American author, activist, and television host took to social media to share a statement revealing she feels at ease after learning that Rushdie is recovering from his injuries.

“Relieved @SalmanRushdie is pulling through after Friday’s nightmare,” Lakshmi tweeted. “Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing.”

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According to Rushdie’s son, Zafar Rushdie, his dad “remains in critical condition,” but “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 told NBC News.

“Though his life-changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humor remains intact,” Zafar’s statement continued. “We are so grateful to all the audience members who bravely leaped 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.”

“We ask for continued patience and privacy as the family comes together at his bedside to support and help him through this time,” he concluded.

The novelist and author of the 1988 book The Satanic Verses put his name front and center as he became the subject of controversy. Death threats were made against him, including a fatwa calling for his assassination issued by Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran, in 1989.

Thirty-three years after the Islamic law ruling, Rushdie was attacked while being introduced at a literary festival at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, despite his protection order. The New York State Police said the attacker had been identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey.

Salman was stabbed “at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen,” the police said. CNN informed Matar was charged with second-degree attempted murder and assault.