With the Venezuelan crisis leaving everyone stranded in paradise, now might be the time to take a seat at Tatiana’s table.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shut down airspace around the South American nation on Saturday night amid a stunning operation to detain President Nicolas Maduro. This means commercial aircraft and private jets that were supposed to bring movie stars, moguls and billionaires back to reality after New Year’s celebrations have been grounded.
Queen Latifah, Mike Tyson, Ming Lee Simmons, Natalie Portman and Richie Akiva of Partypacha were also heard to be among those who washed up on the beach at the luxury oasis in and around St. Barts.
Leonardo DiCaprio missed out on the Palm Springs International Film Awards because he got stuck in St. Barts, as Chelsea Handler said in her monologue at the People’s Choice Awards.
I’ve heard that some St. Barts celebrities and other jet-setters have started taking boats to nearby islands like St. Maarten and Anguilla in hopes of jetting off from the larger island.
“Everyone is heading to Anguilla by boat, only to be turned away and sent back (to St. Barts or St. Martin),” the source said.
But we hear that the 1 percent of refugees, unable to pick themselves up from the ground, are crowding into villas and hotels whose managers are drowning.
Belmond’s luxury properties, such as Cap Juluca in Anguilla, are all booked and “hotels on St. Maarten are sold out,” another person said.
The situation is so desperate that New York hospitality and nightlife veterans continue to post on social media asking people to join group charter flights.
Comedian Jeff Ross also ended up stranded in St. Barths after getting off a plane to head to Beecher’s Madhouse, founded by his friend Jeff Beecher. “The plane is grounded. I’m rowing to New York,” he quipped online. Beecher was scheduled to fly privately on Sunday. Meanwhile, Madhouse star Wee Matt McCarthy was stuck with the rest of the cast.
New York nightlife mogul Richie Akiva rescues abandoned vacationers the only way he knows how: partying.
Akiva and David Guetta’s ex Kathy hosted “Fk Me We Can’t Fly” at Barrie’s in St. Barts, modeled after the international DJ’s infamous “Fk Me, I’m Famous” parties.
Cuba Gooding Jr. and his girlfriend Claudine De Niro were seen on Monday still in Anguilla waiting to be rescued on a private plane. One official said Blade was expected to rescue them on Tuesday morning.
DiCaprio fled St. Barts on Sunday night, moments before being slammed by Chelsea Handler at the Critics’ Choice Awards. “It was just like the Titanic, but worse…because Jeff Bezos was there,” Handler quipped.
Portman, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. She’s still stuck with “a lot of work to get back to this week,” the source revealed, adding that the biggest one is this weekend’s Golden Globes, where she’s nominated for “Arco.”
