Is British TV chef Nigella Lawson’s archenemy ex-husband Charles Saatchi behind the move to deny her entry to the US?
The powerful businessman has a family connection to the Obama campaign and the current US Ambassador in London, Matthew Barzun.
Barzun was appointed as US Ambassador by President Obama last year. The former CNET exec is a longtime activist in the Democratic party, and was a prominent fund-raiser for the 2008 Obama campaign, organizing mass events.
Saatchi’s nephew, Edward Saatchi, also worked on the 2008 Obama campaign as a manager and founded NationalField, a social network to allow campaign staff to share information.
A source speculated, “We don’t know that Saatchi was behind this Machiavellian move, but he certainly has the means and the contacts to do it. Nigella’s friends cannot understand why she was specifically targeted, unless somebody, like her ex-husband, had tipped off the US authorities. She believes Saatchi wants to destroy her.”
“Domestic Goddess” Nigella, a star on ABC’s “The Taste,” told a UK courtroom last December she believed Charles was on a campaign to “ruin me in any way.” She admitted she had used cocaine a handful of times during their marriage, and accused her ex-husband of spreading false information to hurt her reputation.
“He told everyone that he was taking cocaine out of my nose at Scott’s when he knows that is a lie,” Nigella said, testifying at a trial of two ex-assistants. Despite this, there is no evidence Saatchi contacted US authorities about her drug use.
On Sunday, Nigella was prevented from boarding a first class flight from London to LA. The US Embassy in London confirmed that she was denied permission to board the flight to the US, and was invited to the embassy to apply for a visa, which British citizens need to work in the US. The embassy did not say why Nigella was rejected, but authorities can refuse admission to the US for reasons including drug use.
The State Department did not comment, and Saatchi’s spokesman didn’t get back to us.