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- Jeff Thomas, a 35-year-old actor and model, was found dead in Miami in a possible suicide.
- He was reportedly in a relationship with Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire and conservative donor.
- Miami police view the case as a possible suicide and plan to interview Thiel, The Intercept said.
Jeff Thomas, who was 35, was found dead on March 8 in a complex of high-rise residences and a hotel on Brickell Avenue in Miami, according to an incident report.
The Intercept said Thomas was in a relationship with Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire who has spent millions to support right-wing politicians. The publication reported that Thiel is expected to be interviewed as part of the probe.
Miami police declined to confirm details. "It is still an open, active investigation, and we can't comment on open cases," a public information officer told Insider.
The Intercept's D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim reported that Thomas spoke to him about being "kept" by Thiel, who has been married to another man since 2017. Thomas claimed to have met Thiel at Coachella in 2015 or 2016, the article said. Before moving to Miami, he lived in a $13 million Hollywood Hills mansion and Thomas's friends told The Intercept they would often see Thiel at the residence.
"It's not like I was his boyfriend, really, I was just kind of his friend that was there for him when he needed, you know, whatever he needed," Thomas said, according to The Intercept.
The Intercept reported that Thomas and Thiel had been seen at each others' homes, including at raucous parties. The story also said that Thomas claimed that he tried to convince Thiel not to support anti-gay politicians like Blake Masters, who he spent millions trying to get elected.
"I told him to stay out of politics," Thomas said, according to the Intercept. "And he did, and so he didn't support Trump in 2020. He stayed out of it. I was like, OK, great. So I did my part, I influenced him to stay out of it."
Thiel wasn't very active in the 2020 presidential election, the New York Times reported, but in the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, he met with Trump and supported many hard-right Republicans. Masters, who had worked with Thiel and ran for US Senate in Arizona, lost.
Thomas said he had doubts about his relationship with Thiel, the Intercept reported, and the two were not living together.
Thiel didn't reply to an email seeking comment sent on Friday morning.