BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Gay Hell: US town re-named to protest LGBT flag ban

  • Published
    18 June 2019
Share page
About sharing
YouTuber Elijah Daniel welcomes you to Gay HellImage source, Elijah Daniel
Image caption,

YouTuber Elijah Daniel welcomes you to Gay Hell

By Georgina Rannard
BBC News

Welcome to Gay Hell, Michigan. A tiny town with a new name and a new owner.

YouTuber Elijah Daniel, 25, is making waves on social media this week after announcing that he's buying the small American town Hell and re-naming it for Pride Month.

Pride month celebrates the global LGBTQ+ community with a series of events and parades held annually throughout the month of June.

Calling the town Gay Hell is a protest against US President Donald Trump's ban on American embassies flying the rainbow flag, Mr Daniel told BBC News.

Known for his stunts, Mr Daniel said his latest action aims to "trick" his young audience, mostly 15 to 24-year-olds, into paying attention to politics.

"The idea is they click my tweet and then see the news behind it. It's the way I get my audience interested," he explained.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by elijah daniel

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by elijah daniel

Under President Barack Obama, US embassies were permitted to fly the LGBTQ+ flag, but the White House has now banned the practice.

Vice-President Mike Pence, an evangelical Christian who opposes same-sex marriage, defended the ban as the "right decision".

Mr Daniel initially promised that only pride flags would fly in Gay Hell, until he realised that it would be illegal to ban residents from flying the American flag, external.

  • US diplomats work around White House gay pride flag ban

  • Calls for a 'Straight Pride Parade' causes stir

  • 'Not all country boys are bigots'

Hell, which is about 60 miles from Detroit, has turned itself into a tourist destination by capitalising on its unusual name.

In the town you can buy the right to be mayor for the day, external, a wedding chapel is available for couples who want to "get married in Hell", and visitors can visit Hell Hole Bar and Hell Saloon.

In 2017 Elijah Daniel made headlines when he became Hell's mayor, external and announced he would ban heterosexuals from the town.

Mr Daniel grew up near Hell in a "very religious family", and says the town's name was taken seriously by many in his community.

Keen to point out his stunt is meant to be "over-exaggerated and fun", he says he also wants to send a message to children growing up like him that "it's OK to be gay".

YouTuber and comedian Elijah Daniel is in the process of buying the town from its current ownerImage source, Elijah Daniel
Image caption,

YouTuber and comedian Elijah Daniel is in the process of buying the town from its current owner

He aims to do something every year to mark Pride, including in 2017 when he re-wrote the bible "to make it gay", changing the first sentence to "in the beginning Rihanna created the heavens and the earth".

He says he cares about Hell and that it's a place he wants "run all year round", not only for Pride Month.

Hell's owner has been trying to sell for a while, but according to Mr Daniel, he wants to "pass it on to someone who will carry on the tradition".

The asking price is around $1m (£800,000), and Mr Daniel says he will soon finalise his purchase of the town - at which point, Hell's new name will be made permanent.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by elijah daniel

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by elijah daniel

Many on social media celebrated Mr Daniel's move and he says his fans "love it".

His tweet announcing the name change has been shared by nearly 50,000 people and liked almost 200,000 times.

But conservative radio and TV host Joe Pags accused Mr Daniel of "hating the American flag" and Mr Daniel admitted he has received threatening messages on Twitter "but nothing out of the ordinary."

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Joe Pags Pagliarulo

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Joe Pags Pagliarulo

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Aid drops a 'distraction' with Gaza starvation deepening, UN agency boss says

    • 2818 viewing2.8k viewing
  • Security tightens as Donald Trump plays golf at Turnberry

    • Published
      10 minutes ago
  • Gregg Wallace 'sorry' but says he's 'not a groper'

    • Published
      12 hours ago

More to explore

  • Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport

    Chloe running towards the camera with her arms to her sides, wearing white shorts and white sports bra with her England shirt twirled up in her right hand, screaming with joy, blonde hair flying
  • How reality TV changed the way we think - for the better

    A treated image showing an old TV screen with a close up eye
  • Sleep, exercise, hydrate - do we really need to stick to recommended daily doses?

    A woman wearing black leggings and pink athletic shoes, standing on a set of black steps. One foot is placed on a higher step while the other remains on a lower one, suggesting an exercise or stretching.
  • ​​What is inside the GHF food aid box being distributed in Gaza?

    An image showing a young man carrying an box of aid with the GHF logo emblazoned on it. He is wearing a dark shirt with Nike Air written on it. Several other people are walking alongside him, and the image is imposed over the BBC Verify branding and colours.
  • School-leavers losing their lives for Russia in Putin's war with Ukraine

    Separate photos of two boys, one in a white judo outfit and the other a black tracksuit top
  • French pledge to recognise Palestine is a gamble - so will Starmer follow suit?

    Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron
  • How Epstein case is tearing apart Maga's online conspiracy wing

    Red hats with Donald Trump's Maga logo are handed out at an event
  • Why is River Island in trouble?

    A group of young people walk past a River Island store with sale signs in the window
  • News Daily: Our flagship daily newsletter delivered to your inbox first thing, with all the latest headlines

    A promo promoting the News Daily newsletter - a graphic of an orange sphere with two concentric crescent shapes around it in a red-orange gradient, like a sound wave.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Security tightens as Donald Trump plays golf at Turnberry

  2. 2

    'My dad started spying on my mum' - the drugs causing sexual urges

  3. 3

    World's thirst for matcha dries up global supplies

  4. 4

    Sleep, exercise, hydrate - do we really need to stick to recommended daily doses?

  5. 5

    Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport

  6. 6

    Gregg Wallace 'sorry' but says he's 'not a groper'

  7. 7

    School-leavers losing their lives for Russia in Putin's war with Ukraine

  8. 8

    UK condemns Hong Kong cash offer for help in arresting activists

  9. 9

    Summer of stink: Inside America's garbage labour dispute

  10. 10

    'We were sure we wouldn't bump into each other at uni'

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • New drama from writer Jimmy McGovern

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Unforgivable
  • The Bafta award-winning comedy returns

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Such Brave Girls
  • An epic road trip across Vietnam

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Top Gear
  • Amol Rajan and Billy Bragg chat politics

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Radical with Amol Rajan
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.