Just a few days after being released from prison, Tekashi 6ix9ine surprised his followers with a video on Instagram where he is seen giving $50,000 in cash to two families in need, sparking a wave of reactions among his millions of fans.
The rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernández, released the video on April 11 and explained that he received over 90,000 comments from people sharing their stories before selecting the winners of the giveaway.
"I thought it would be selfish to give $50,000 to just one family, so I decided to divide it in two and give $25,000 to each," the artist explained in the video, which garnered over 839,000 views, 161,000 likes, and thousands of comments within hours.
One of the families that benefited was a couple struggling to afford their young daughter Isla's heart transplant. Before receiving the rapper's donation, their GoFundMe campaign had raised $13,869 of a $20,000 goal, an amount that Tekashi's gesture vastly surpassed in one go.
However, the fact that the draw was sponsored by a cryptocurrency betting platform sparked debate among his followers about the motivations behind the gesture. Despite this, many of his followers applauded the donation and recalled all the times in the past that the rapper has shown his more generous side by giving money to people in vulnerable situations.
The return of Tekashi 6ix9ine to public life has been marked by a series of eye-catching news stories. Shortly after his release, it was revealed that his Cuban girlfriend Aliday Alter, 29 years old, is pregnant, adding a new chapter to the artist's tumultuous personal life.
During his time in prison, the rapper also claimed to have shared a cell with former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, a statement that caused a great stir on social media. His latest conviction was related to drug possession and an assault at a shopping mall, violations of his parole that led him back to jail.
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