[5] In 2018, various residents of the foundation's homes filed suit against Make It Right, alleging that the non-profit built and sold houses with "defective" materials that caused electrical and plumbing malfunctions, with insufficient ventilation, and with other structural issues.

[6] As of early 2022, reports stated that only 6 of the original 109 homes built remained in "reasonably good shape," with many rendered uninhabitable, plagued by construction errors and mold issues.

"[7] In 2022, Global Green USA agreed to pay $20.5 million to homeowners to settle a class action lawsuit.

[9] In December 2007, Brad Pitt and William McDonough, together with Graft Architects,[10] founded Make It Right to rebuild 150 safe, energy-efficient and affordable homes for families from New Orleans Lower 9th Ward who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.

[13][14] On March 10, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres hosted "A Night to Make It Right" with Drew Brees and Randy Jackson and performances by Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Seal, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. John.

Over 1,200 attendees paid between $1,000 and $2,500 to dine on a meal created by celebrity chefs Emeril Lagasse and John Besh.

[23][24][25] The foundation reported that the homes used special wood products called TimberSIL which is advertised as free from many of toxic ingredients.

The founder of the Lower 9th Ward Homeowners Association, Linda Jackson, was quoted in 2018 as saying that the majority of the foundation's homes were then vacant.

[22] The residents said the houses were built too quickly, with low-quality materials, and that the designs did not take into account New Orleans’ humid, rainy climate.

NBC News said that the foundation had "all but disappeared" with its downtown New Orleans office had been closed and staff had been cut to a handful, and with residents saying their calls went unreturned.

[29] In early 2022, only 6 of the 109 Make It Right houses remained in what an urban-studies researcher deemed to be "reasonably good shape.

[8][5] Global Green USA agreed to advance the US$20.5 million to the Make It Right Foundation and to oversee the distribution of the funds.

", Architectural Digest examined what went wrong with the foundation's efforts to build homes magazine and interviewed several builders, lawyers, and residents.