New Orleans Residents Slam Brad Pitt Over Moldy, Crumbling Rescue Homes
Sept. 13 2018, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right foundation swung into action after Hurricane Katrina, building houses for residents of flooded New Orleans.
But now, residents have slapped the actor's charity with a lawsuit, charging that the homes wound up defective and dangerous!
As RadarOnline.com has reported, two residents of the Lower Ninth Ward have filed what they intend to be a class-action lawsuit – charging that Pitt’s charity sold them “defectively and improperly constructed homes.”
“The organization does not build safe homes,” local homeowner Kamaria Allen said of Make It Right. “It is a fool’s paradise.”
Altruistic Pitt, 54, an architecture buff, created the foundation in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the city. The goal was to replace the swept away houses with 150 state-of-the-art homes that were storm-safe, solar-powered, highly insulated and “green.”
The homes were available at an average price of $150,000 to residents who received resettlement financing, government grants and donations from the foundation itself.
But buyers were quickly overcome with remorse, especially after many started complaining of mold and collapsing structures, electrical fires and gas leaks. Claims came fast that the houses were built too quickly, with low-quality materials.
The proposed class-action lawsuit alleges Pitt’s foundation knew of the concerns, but never alerted homeowners.
Pitt, who's been embroiled in a bitter divorce from Angelina Jolie, has remained tight-lipped about the project and its setbacks. But a spokesperson for the actor released a statement on his behalf to NBC News, noting, “We began an extensive review of homes just after the tenth anniversary of Katrina. Thanks to the dedication of the MIR team, we have been coordinating repairs of homes experiencing problems since early 2018 and I have total faith in our team on the ground to see this through.
“I made a promise to the folks of the Lower Ninth to help them rebuild — it is a promise I intend to keep.”
Attorney Ron Austin, who spearheaded the lawsuit, says he’ll hold Pitt, and the Make It Right foundation to their word.
“The problem is that they’re stringing people along because they’re making promises that they’ll fix things, and they never do,” Austin said. “Folks are getting sicker and houses are breaking down every day.”
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