Is Michael Duarte dead? NBC LA reporter's reaction to his namesake influencer's death sparks confusion on X

California-based food influencer Michael Duarte passed away on November 8, 2025. According to TMZ, Duarte died in a "horrible incident" just a few days after celebrating his wedding anniversary with wife Jessica. Meanwhile, his namesake, who is an NBC LA reporter took to X and reacted to the influencer's death.

Michael J. Duarte, who is an award-winning journalist, reacted to the news about the influencer's demise and responded with just "🤯." The tweet garnered massive traction on X, formerly known as Twitter. As of now, the post has more than 21 million views as well as over 170K likes since it was uploaded on November 11. 

The journalist reshared a post by TMZ, in which the outlet reported the food influencer's death. Many netizens too took to the comment section and shared their opinions on the same. Some very interesting tweets have been posted by the netizens. One user tweeted,

"Damn talk about being two places at once." 

"Rest in peace bro I'll see you tomorrow," wrote another one. 

Exploring food influencer Michael Duarte's life amid reports of his death

Michael Duarte is a food influencer who used to post content on Instagram under the username @foodwithbearhands. According to a GoFundMe page, Duarte passed away while travelling through Texas. According to new details obtained by TMZ, the influencer was shot by cops. 

According to officers, he charged at an officer and threatened to kill. This reportedly happened after the cops responded after receiving reports surrounding a "male subject with a knife acting erratically." 

As per reports by TMZ, Duarte's talent agency had posted about him amid reports about his demise. They described the influencer as "a devoted husband to his wife, Jessica, a loving father to his daughter, brother, and a loyal friend to so many around the world." On Instagram, the influencer had more than 842K followers.

TMZ reported that he also had accounts on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Duarte is known for posting recipes of different dishes, and a lot of his posts included grilling and barbecuing. In one reel that Michael Duarte uploaded on August 4, 2025, he said that he had been in the restaurant industry for a long time. He stated that he had been a dishwasher, a server, and a bartender at different phases.

Duarte then added that he had a special love for cooking and was advised by his wife to post on social media. According to the food influencer, he left his general manager position at Ruth's Chris Steak House to pursue his career as a food influencer. The most viewed reel on his Instagram feed was posted in March of last year. In the video that garnered about 31 million views, Duarte shared an alligator recipe.