A Beverly Hills, California, home belonging to comedian Eric Idle and his wife, former Playboy model Tania Kosevich, was evacuated on Monday night after an envelope containing a “white, powdery” substance was delivered to the property, NBC News reported.
Los Angeles police later said the substance was determined not to be hazardous. It remains unclear whether the material, which has yet to be publicly identified, was sent as a threat.
The envelope was mailed from Thailand, CBS Los Angeles reported, and at least one person had touched the powdery substance before authorities were called. Officials initially said they were treating Idle’s home as a possible anthrax scene.
Anthrax is an infectious bacterial disease that can cause serious illness or even death. In 2001, five people died in the U.S. after anthrax spores were mailed to several media companies and congressional offices.
According to CBS Los Angeles, three people were in Idle’s home at the time of the envelope’s opening on Monday. Two of them — both women — were reportedly transported to a local hospital as a precaution.
It is not known whether Idle ― the 76-year-old British comedian and Monty Python alum ― was inside the home at the time of the scare.
