Noting in a statement that it's "crazy" to him that public housing residents are "still expected to pay rent" amid COVID-19 containment efforts, Saturday Night Live star Michael Che has announced that he will be paying a month's worth of rent for all 160 apartments in the New York City Housing Authority building where his late grandmother used to live.
"I know that's just a drop in the bucket," Che said in a statement shared to Instagram late Wednesday. "So I really hope the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing, AT THE VERY LEAST." Che also urged NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Diddy to hit him up about doing more for those whose housing may be threatened by the novel coronavirus.
SNL returned this past weekend with a work-from-home edition, Weekend Update segment included. Topics broached during the self-filmed back-and-forth with Colin Jost ranged from Tiger King to a new cereal inspired by noted health product Twinkies:
Che's rent donation is the latest in a long line of examples of celebrities and other public figures stepping up amid the pandemic. The biggest effort, Michael Rubin's All In Challenge, has enlisted Drake and others in an effort to generate millions of dollars for COVID-19 relief.
