Dave Chappelle has been likened to Donald Trump by at least one resident in his Ohio hometown for his ability to divide people, amid an ongoing row about the millionaire comedian buying up property.
Chappelle, 49, was born in Washington DC but spent his summers with his father in Yellow Springs, Ohio – home to 3,700 people. In the early 2000s Chappelle returned to the Buckeye State and in 2005 bought a 3,150-square-foot, three bedroom home amid 39 acres for $309,000.
Several townspeople told Bloomberg that they’re not too pleased with their A-list neighbor, saying Chappelle was ‘a force that’s turning us into the place that we’re all trying to stay away from.’
Another added: ‘Dave’s got to be the biggest contentious thing that I’ve ever seen pit neighbor against neighbor.’ Some residents took issue with him seemingly using his star power to bulldoze any questioning of his plans.
‘If you close ranks, and then you decimate anybody that speaks against an idea you have, then how does that inform community, or build community, and how does that save a community?’ asked one.
Several more, according to Bloomberg, compared Chappelle to Trump because he would ‘never apologize, double down and blame the other person.’ Chappelle himself has addressed the controversies – sometimes in his shows. Signs saying ‘Thanks, Dave’ are dotted around the town.
Megastar comedian has been living in Yellow Springs, Ohio, since the mid-2000s
This is the controversial Wirrig Pavilion in Yellow Springs where Chappelle began holding shows during the Covid-19 pandemic
The school house, built in 1872, was bought by Chappelle in 2020
The comedian plans to turn the building into the new home of local radio station WYSO
Chappelle also intends on turning the old fire house into a comedy club
The club will be equipped with a full bar, fire pets and a neon facsimile of Chappelle
During the pandemic, Chappelle, believed to be worth $60 million, begun hosting concerts and shows at the Wirrig Pavilion, a wooden gazebo that sits on 34 acres of grass and trees. Some neighbors objected to the agricultural land being used for shows, and multiple council meetings were held.
Other locals took issue with his buying up 20 properties, ranging from a former schoolhouse and firehouse to shops and residential homes. Chappelle is working to turn several of them into venues or performing art spaces.
‘My town was dying,’ he said on Saturday Night Live in November 2020.
‘I did shows in my neighbor’s cornfield, and these shows were very successful and may have even helped save the town.’
Some locals agreed: Brittany Baum, a business owner, wrote in a letter to the zoning board that the pandemic performances ‘brought magic and energy at a time when we needed it the most.’
A local accountant, Matthew Cole, wrote: ‘A few local businesses would not exist today if it weren’t for the shows.’
Chappelle commissioned a report which claimed that the events generated $12 million in direct and indirect economic activity for the state of Ohio, including $4 million for the village.
‘The local farmers, my neighbors, started to complain that my shows were too noisy—in a cornfield!’
He described the ensuing town meeting as ’embarrassing’ and said, ‘I resented it, I resented that these country farmers could decide a guy like me’s fate. People don’t deserve to do that. They haven’t seen enough. They don’t know anything.’
Chappelle’s recent purchases include the former fire station, bought in September 2020 to turn into a comedy club.
Three months later he bought the historic Union School House for $480,000, intending to turn the 1872 building into the home of local radio station WYSO.
He has also bought up a swathe of residential and commercial buildings in the town.
In November 2020 he turned down the opportunity to buy 53 acres of land next to his property, and the plot went to Oberer Land Developers, a regional homebuilder, for $1.7 million.
Dave Chappelle is pictured center with rappers Dres (left) and Pos (right) from De La Soul on March 2 in New York. Chappelle’s actions in his Ohio hometown have divided the community
Chappelle hosted a series of pandemic shows at the Wirrig Pavilion in Yellow Springs – to the anger of some locals, but to the delight of others
Chappelle is seen in June 2020 on stage at the Wirrig Pavilion
Chappelle on Friday appeared unimpressed by Bloomberg’s reporting
Signs supporting Chappelle are seen in Yellow Springs, Ohio
Chappelle has bought up this purple-fronted building, which was formerly the Earth Rose gift shop
Chappelle also owns the Smoking Octopus, which sells Chappelle merchandise
Oberer worked with the village of Yellow Springs to design a residential development that would include 64 single-family homes, 52 duplexes and 24 townhomes, with prices starting in the mid-$200,000s, Bloomberg reported.
Oberer would also donate 1.75 acres to the village where up to 30 affordable housing units could one day be built.
Yet in February 2022, Chappelle attended a virtual meeting and railed against the plan.
Supporters said it would ultimately lead to lower prices.
‘The fact that we stopped development for decades is why we’re in the problem we have with a lack of housing, a lack of diversity and a lack of availability,’ said one.
Chappelle told the meeting he was angry that his plans for the town were seeming to take longer to gain approval.
‘I cannot believe you would make me audition—for you,’ he said, and threatened to withdraw all his investment.
‘You look like clowns. I am not bluffing. I will take it all off the table. That’s all. Thank you.’
Earlier this month, Chappelle himself bought the site.
He told Bloomberg: ‘With the decline of Antioch College several years ago, Yellow Springs lost its cultural anchor.
‘My interest has always been in restoring the cultural and creative economy Antioch helped to foster and which made Yellow Springs a haven for art, music, culture and academia.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk