Michael Che’s grandmother passed away from coronavirus on Sunday.
The SNL comedian posted a nine-page “open letter” on Instagram which read, “Last night my grandmother passed away… I’m doing ok, considering. I’m obviously very hurt and angry that she had to go through all that pain alone. But I’m also happy that she’s not in pain anymore.”
He continued, “And I also feel guilty for feeling happy. basically the whole gamut of complex feelings everybody else has losing someone very close and special. I’m not unique.”
To date, it is Che’s only post on Instagram, though he has over 450k followers. He captioned the letter, “I swear I’m fine.”
During a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Che was asked who the funniest person he knows is. He responded, “My grandmother. She’s a bigot and hysterical.”
Che Said He Would Not Talk About Coronavirus During Last Week’s ‘Weekend Update’
Last week, Che said during the “Weekend Update” segment on SNL that he would not talk about COVID-19.
“I don’t want to make jokes about this coronavirus and not because it’s too sad,” Che said. “It’s because I don’t know that I don’t have it yet, and if I do have it, the internet is going to play this clip of me making fun of it over and over again.”
His Letter Has Elicited an Emotional Response From Fans & Friends
A number of celebrities have reached out to Che to offer their condolences.
Chaunte Wayans, an actress and comedian from the Netflix special They Ready wrote, “This is so crazy. Sorry you have to deal with this… Sending you lots of love and healing vibes.”
Cecily Strong added, “Love you.”
In his letter, Che referenced a number of conspiracy theories about the origin of the COVID-pandemic. “I actually believe this is 5G poisoning, and not because I’ve done any research on this, or even understand what 5G really is. I just refuse to believe I lost my sweet, beautiful grandma because someone—a ate a bat one time. I’m sorry.”
He continued by stating, “I bet somebody tried to warm him like, ‘That bat smells a little funny. And his dumbass was probably like, ‘Ehhhhh, what’s the worst that could happen?’ Whatever. I’m just mad.”
Amy Schumer, in the comments section, replied to Che, “I’m so sorry honey. They don’t eat bats because they’re adventurous. They eat them because they are poor. At its most basic level this is about the imbalance of wealth.”
In the sprawling letter, Che asks his followers to ensure they are doing what they can to stay healthy. “Make sure you’re getting your vitamins, and water, and probiotics, and dark leafy greens, and all that other good stuff I never thought twice about until the last couple weeks.”
The post had over 2,500 comments as of Monday afternoon.
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