The body of former President Barack Obama’s personal chef was reportedly found in the water near the family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard.
QUICK FACTS:
- Former President Barack Obama’s personal chef was reportedly found to have drowned near the family’s ritzy estate on Martha’s Vineyard Monday.
- The 45-year-old man, Tafari Campbell, had been visiting the home although none of the Obama’s were present at the time of his death.
- While initial reports claimed Campbell drowned while paddleboarding, an unverified report claims rescue personnel Campbell had “blunt force injuries” to his head.
- “His face was all messed up like he was in a brawl with someone,” a member of the Edgartown fire department said, according to the report.
- Police said the search was “paused late Sunday but on Monday state police said sonar from a boat located the body about 100 feet (30 meters) from shore at a depth of about 8 feet (2.4 meters). Campbell was not wearing a life jacket.”
- In a statement, the Obamas claimed to first have met the chef while at the White House, but “in the years that followed, we got to know him as a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter.”
- In 2017, a photo posted on his Instagram showed Campbell with his wife in Aruba, with hashtags such as #wemadesomeprogress and #stillcantswim, suggesting that he was not a skilled swimmer at the time.
- However, video has surfaced of the man taking swimming lessons at Onelife Fitness in Woodbridge, Virginia in 2019, further leading to suspicions on his actual cause of death.
BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA ON THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF SOUS CHEF TAFARI CAMPBELL:
“When we were getting ready to leave the White House, we asked Tafari to stay with us, and he generously agreed. He’s been part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that he’s gone,” the Obama’s said.
BACKGROUND:
- In August 2021, during the “height” of the COVID pandemic, footage from former President Barack Obama’s 60th birthday party at the Martha’s Vineyard estate revealed hundreds of maskless guests at the celebration.
- While Americans were still being told to cancel large events and, “wear a mask with two or more layers,” the former president was caught on video dancing maskless among hundreds of also maskless party guests.
- Beyonce, Jay-Z, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, and Bruce Springsteen were also among the celebrities on the guest list who reportedly showed up for Obama’s “birthday bash” at the time.
