Dev Hynes to Give Donations to Charity Following Devastating Apartment Fire
Earlier this week, Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) lost everything he owned—even his beloved dog, Cupid—in an apartment fire in NYC's East Village.
After the incident, Hynes tragically tweeted:
"Last night, the unthinkable happened. My entire apt burnt down while I was out. I've lost everything I own, including scores, hard drives, clothes, sentimental items. Everything from my life is gone. My dog died in the fire. I will love you forever Cupid. I miss you."
His girlfriend's mother, Robin Urbani, quickly stepped up and created an online fundraising campaign to help out, raising $24,302 before the British producer/singer asked Urbani to take it down. Now he's taken to his Tumblr to explain why he feels uncomfortable accepting donations and the extent of his loss.
"I should explain first of all, exactly what has happened, in terms that maybe will make people understand," he wrote. "Imagine being outside of your home one day. Then somebody presses delete, on the last decade of your life. You own nothing except for what you have on you in that precise moment. This is what has happened."
He added, "It’s more than music. As I’ve seen many people talk about, or people on the street. It’s my life. It’s everything I’ve ever owned….loved… It’s all gone, forever. I miss you Cupid."
Regarding the fundraiser, he explained:
"If I am honest, the fundraiser makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. This isn’t me saying I don’t need the money, to reiterate, i have lost everything. There are things i can do, although it will take years, that can help myself rebuild, a huge part of me is still struggling with understanding the events of two nights ago, and where to take my life from here.
"This isn’t me being unappreciative. Tears stream down my face when Samantha shows me the nice messages people have written. It’s overwhelming in the most extremely nicest way that people would care about this. But as I stated before, so many people have nothing they can do to rebuild their life from scratch.
"I have a lot to think about, I don’t even know where to start from, I just wanted to be honest."
Hynes said that he wishes to donate the funds he's received to charities instead, although he admitted to still being "in shock" and possibly having no choice but to use some of the profits for rebuilding his livelihood.
In closing, he invited those that have already donated to let him know whether or not they would want their funds to go to charity.
Immediately following Hynes' post, Urbani announced she had ended the fundraising efforts "at Dev's request."
This story breaks our hearts as we are huge fans of all of Dev's work. In fact, this incredible interview with Dev was the last artist sit-down from our original Fuse News anchor Alexa Chung. Here's hoping he can find a way to rebuild in a manner he feels comfortable with.
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