Only one flag flies over Hell, Michigan, and it’s the pride flag, according to rapper Elijah Daniel. The comedian-turned-musician said that he purchased the unincorporated town Monday, and that his first order of business was to change the town’s name to “Gay Hell” as a protest to the Trump Administration.
“I am now the owner of Hell, Michigan. I bought the whole town. And my first act as owner, I have renamed my town to Gay Hell,” Daniel said on Twitter. The gay rapper, who uses the stage name Lil Phag, said he was inspired to purchase Gay Hell after the State Department denied U.S. embassies and consulates’ requests to fly rainbow flags during Pride Month this year.
Daniel previously served as mayor of Hell for one day in 2017 and proclaimed a ban on straight people. The town’s website says that anyone can pay $100 to be “mayor for a day” in a package that includes a T-shirt, devil horns and a deed of ownership to one square inch of the town.
The comedian, who announced his own brand of “gay weed” earlier in the month, bought the mayor title for three days, which allowed him to temporarily change the town name, local business owner John Colone told Mashable.
In his first hours as mayor, Daniel tweeted: “Gay Hell, Mi has everything. A library, a place to lock your love in Gay Hell and even a WEDDING CHAPEL TO GET GAY MARRIED IN HELL!” he wrote.
He also specified that in Gay Hell, the only flags that can be flown are rainbow flags. In early June, three American diplomats told NBC News that embassies’ requests to display pride flags on their official flagpoles were denied by the Trump Administration. Embassy officials in Israel, Germany, Brazil and Latvia were among those who requested permission, according to NBC. Embassies were given blanket permission to fly the pride flag during June under the Obama Administration.