Michael Che pays rent for 160 residents in late grandma’s building

When SNL Weekend Update co-host Michael Che lost his grandmother recently to COVID-19, he shared an emotional Instagram post that was full of all the stages of grief. Hurt, pain, fear, confusion and anger were all present in the now-deleted post, proving that he had to find a way to start healing from his devastating loss. Fast forward 11 days and the comedian seems to have found one: by paying rent for the residents at his late grandma’s building.Che updated his sole Instagram post to raise awareness and share the news on April 16, revealing that in his grandmother’s honour he will pay one month’s rent for the residents living in the New York City public housing building that she lived in. “It’s crazy to me that residents of public housing are still expected to pay their rent when so many New Yorkers can’t even work,” he wrote. “Obviously I can’t offer much help by myself. But in the spirit and memory of my late grandmother, I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building she lived in. 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.”

 

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A post shared by Michael Che (@chethinks) on Apr 15, 2020 at 4:26pm PDT

[video_embed id='1941533']RELATED: This small business owner shares what will help her and what will hurt with the new aid package[/video_embed]While public officials haven’t quite announced what the plan is just yet (at least not in response to Che’s post), New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is all-in on Che’s actions. He took to Twitter to dole out praises about Che and his donation, but didn’t really offer any action himself. “Michael Che is another extraordinary New Yorker who grew up in @NYCHA, and never forgot where he came from,” de Blasio wrote. “Beyond the money raised, tonight shows how deeply people in this city care about our neighbours in public housing.”Considering how shook Che was and still seems to be over his grandmother’s passing, this probably won’t be the last fans hear from the comedian about her or the way coronavirus has affected everyone’s new reality. Just last weekend during the At Home edition of SNL, Che addressed the situation on a virtual Weekend Update with co-host Colin Jost.“As you know, Colin, I lost my grandmother this week. And coming back to work really made me feel better, especially with you,” he said on the show before convincing Jost to partake in his grandma’s favourite bit, the popular “Joke Swap” segment, in which Jost reads Che’s “offensive” one liners. “My grandmother has never seen this show. I just wanted you to do that,” Che said when Jost was finished. Then, at the end of the show he signed off as “Martha's grandbaby” instead of his signature “Michael Che.”Che is just one of many celebrities trying to raise awareness or donate money to the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Everyone from Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski to Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Oprah, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber have been putting money to the cause while raising awareness and trying to lift spirits.[video_embed id='1939736']BEFORE YOU GO: Is there a right way to unpack grocery deliveries during COVID-19?[/video_embed]