Giving back! After Michael Che’s grandmother died from the novel coronavirus, the comedian decided to cover one month of rent for New York City tenants who reside within the same housing project as his late relative.
“It’s crazy to me that residents of public housing are still expected to pay their rent when so many New Yorkers can’t offer much help by myself,” the Saturday Night Live star, 36, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, April 15. “But in the spirit of my late grandmother, I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in NYCHA building she lived in.”
Che continued, “I know that’s just a drop in the bucket. So I really hope the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing AT THE VERY LEAST.”
In closing, Che called for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs to “page” him so that they can “fix this” problem together.
On April 6, the New York native revealed that his grandmother died the night before. “I’m doing ok, considering. I’m obviously very hurt and angry that she had to go through all that pain alone,” he admitted in an extensive Instagram statement.
“But I’m also happy that she’s not in pain anymore. And I also feel guilty for feeling happy,” he continued. “Basically the whole gamut of complex feelings everybody else has losing someone very close and special. I’m not unique. But it’s still scary.”
Che noted that he was “frustrated” because “there’s so much we still don’t know about it, and I don’t think we are getting the whole truth.” He added, “I just refuse to believe I lost my sweet, beautiful grandma, because some n–ga ate a bat one time. I’m sorry.”
The Instagram post has since been deleted from Che’s account.
Days after his grandmother’s passing, Che returned to his “Weekend Update” duties during a remote episode of Saturday Night Live on April 11. At the time, Che told cohost Colin Jost that this return helped to put him in better spirits following his relative’s passing.
“As you know, Colin, I lost my grandmother this week,” Che said to Jost, 37. “And coming back to work really made me feel better, especially with you.”
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