Even with COVID-19 cases increasing recently, former President Barack Obama had his birthday party in Massachusetts on Saturday. Several photos and videos were leaked out to the public from the party, which shows Obama not wearing a mask dancing with his guests, who also did not wear any mask.
Obama’s birthday party was held in big tents on his estate in Martha’s Vineyard in Dukes County, which was designated as a “high transmission” area for COVID-19 by the CDC. High transmission communities fall under the CDC’s updated guidance recommending that masks be worn indoors, even by people who have received the vaccine.
Singer Erykah Badu was performing at the former president’s 60th birthday party, and got footage of Obama not wearing a mask while dancing with a woman and other guests not wearing masks. Badu uploaded the footage on Instagram, but then quickly removed it. But she didn’t manage to get rid of it fast enough and the video was shared online.
Rapper Trap Beckham and manager TJ Chapman also attended Obama’s birthday party, and shared photos of the event before removing the images that were saved by the New York Post.
Chapman guessed that Obama spent at least $1 million on the event, which he called “the party of all parties.”
Attendees were also given custom-designed face masks and cocktail napkins emblazoned with “44×60,” a logo for the 44th president on his 60th birthday.
However, Beckham revealed that he was forced to delete all of the images of the Obama shindig.
“Had to delete everything due to the rules,” Beckham said after the party. “It was epic for sure. If any videos surface, it’s going viral. He danced the whole time. Nobody ever seen Obama like this before.”
In a video posted to social media, Chapman was upset he had to delete his videos.
“Epic night last night,” Chapman said in a video. “I posted some stories of myself. Didn’t think anybody gave a damn, and I guess they did. That’s not cool. That’s not cool.”
Celebrity guests included Beyoncé, Jay-Z, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, Bradley Cooper, Don Cheadle, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Gabrielle Union, Dwayne Wade, Questlove, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Gayle King, Steven Colbert, and Tom Hanks.
John Legend allegedly sang “Happy Birthday” to Obama.
The party allegedly wrapped up around midnight, and the celebrities leaving caused a traffic “s***show,” according to a local police officer.
The phrase “maskless Obama” trended on Twitter when the photos and videos of the former president not wearing a mask spread around the internet on Sunday.
Obama was criticized over the party for claiming to “scale back” the festivities and include “only family and close friends,” only to have celebrities fly into Massachusetts from all over.