The action is over inside the Claw, but a family is still going a few rounds over the UFC 250 event.
Hedgefund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II and his family — who are pals with the Obamas — are having a “‘bit of a family freaking out” over his musician daughter’s appearance at the brawl, a source tells Page Six.
We hear the family members are trying to distance themselves from their child, and apparently they’re particularly upset over an insult thrown at former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Robinhood Foundation founder Paul’s daughter Caroline Jones sang the National Anthem at the event on South Lawn of the White House as member of the Zac Brown Band. The group, standing on a Monster Energy logo decked in red, white and blue, performed alongside the United States Marine Band as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flew overhead.
Later during the event, UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit said, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
“The family is trying to figure out how to navigate this, especially the Michelle slur” says a source.
We’re told they’ve gone so far as to asked Caroline to “be quiet about it and not post.”
“[Their] Obama friendship is really important to them,” said the source.
Another source tells us that they would not characterize the reaction as a “freak out,” but says there is “concern.”
Paul, whose worth an estimated $8.1 billion, was a major early backer of Obama, helping the campaign raise $750,000 with a benefit at his Connecticut home in 2007 that drew the likes of Tyra Banks and George Soros. He was at the White House in 2011 for a meeting between Obama and two dozen Wall Street executives to discuss the economy.
Paul — who has given to candidates across the political spectrum— wound up defecting and donating to Romney during the 2012 election cycle. Meanwhile that same year, his wife Sonia held a $40,000-per-person fundraiser for Obama at Sarah Jessica Parker’s home.
A source tells us that the relationship is not just political, but that the Jones and Obamas have taken vacations together.
Zac Brown explained his reasoning for appearing at the event as “patriotism, not politics.”
“I’m there for the troops, man,” Brown said on the Pat McAfee show earlier this week. “I’m there to honor America. This is patriotism, not politics, for me. F*ck all the division. I don’t believe in that. I love this country, I love all the people that have sacrificed so I can live my American dream, and that everyone who lives here gets the chance to do that if they work hard, [and] make the right decisions.“
Reps for both Paul and Caroline did not respond to request for comment.
