Friday, 29 Mar 2024

YouTuber buys town of Hell, Michigan, renames it ‘Gay Hell’

A musician bought the town of Hell, Michigan — and renamed it “Gay Hell,” according to a report.

Elijah Daniel, who is also a popular YouTube user known for his crude humor on the social media site, reportedly said he renamed the town in an act of protest against the Trump’s administration’s ban on US embassies flying rainbow flags for Pride month.

“I have a young audience who is 16 to 24 who would not be involved in politics if it wasn’t in a funny or meme way,” the 24-year-old told NBC News about his reason behind the purchase. “I’m just trying to have fun and get my audience politically active.”

The musician, who goes by “Lil Phag,” declined to say how much it cost to buy the tiny town from its previous owner, John Colone. He told the outlet he will be the temporary owner.

The newly-rebranded town is a five acre commercial property and was on the market for $900,000 in 2016, the Detroit Free Press reported at the time.

It’s located about 15 miles northwest of Ann Arbor and is believed to have a population of about 70 people, according to the outlet.

Earlier in the day, the vlogger tweeted: “As of today, I am the owner of Hell, Michigan. I bought the whole town. And my first act as owner, I have renamed my town to Gay Hell, MI.”

“The only flags allowed to fly are pride.”

But he told the outlet that the flag rule is a joke and won’t be enforced.

Daniel, a California resident with more than 500,000 YouTube subscribers, said he hopes his purchase will also spur people to visit Michigan.

This isn’t the first time he’s gone to Hell to make a political statement. In 2017, he took part in a mayor-for-a-day shtick that costs $100 — and immediately banned heterosexuality.

Previous owner Colone, who acts as Hell’s unofficial mayor and runs the town for tourists, is “one of the sweetest people alive,” Daniel told the website Mashable.

“Very LGBT-friendly, and that’s, in rural Michigan, very hard to find,” he said.

Colone owns may of the businesses inside the town, including the souvenir shop, the chapel and the mini golf course. A message left for Colone wasn’t immediately returned.

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