Did Dave Chappelle just block an affordable housing project? | Sure looks like it... © Netflix

Did Dave Chappelle just block an affordable housing project?

Sure looks like it...

comedyDave Chappelle threatened to pull $65million of investment from his hometown if it went ahead with an affordable housing plan.

The comedian’s intervention appears to have worked as Yellow Springs, Ohio, voted down plans to allow developers Oberer to build 140 homes in return for donating 1.75 acres of land on which the local council could build its own affordable units.

Instead the firm will revert to its previous plan for 143 homes and no land donation – a concession which the council had spent a year negotiating to secure.

A clip of Chappelle appearing in front of a local meeting and telling them ‘I am not bluffing, I will take it all off the table’ has gone viral, attracting more than 2million views

Obviously displeased about being there the comic also says: ‘I cannot believe you would make me audition for you. You look like clowns.’

The comedian has plans to build a restaurant and a comedy club in the 4,000-population town and previously said: ‘I’ve invested millions of dollars in [the] town. If you push this thing through, what I’m investing in is no longer applicable.’

The reason for Chappelle’s objection has not been made clear - nor whether he objects to any development, or just the option that includes donation of the land.

However other residents have voiced concerns about the traffic impact of the project and the quality of the homes being built.

Chappelle’s intervention puts him at the centre of another controversy, after views about trans people voiced in his latest Netflix special sparked outrage.

As one Twitter commentator said: ‘His positions on trans issues and now housing make it clear that, above all else, Dave Chappelle is a boring old boomer.’

Published: 10 Feb 2022

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