Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Charlie Puth, Chris Brown, Demi Lovato, Hailee Steinfeld, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Zedd, and other top celebs showed their support for Tennessee kid Keaton Jones after his mother published a heartbreaking video of him pleading with bull.ies to leave him alone.
Celebrities are rallying behind Keaton Jones after he detailed his experiences as a target of bul.lying in a devastating video. Bull.ies even poured milk on the poor youngster in his school cafeteria, making him terr.ified to attend lunch. He contacted his mother to take him home early, after which he recorded the video. His emotional plea to the people was not only for himself but also for children everywhere, drawing the attention of Justin Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, Charlie Puth, Chris Brown, Cardi B, Hailee Steinfeld, LeBron James, and actor Mark Ruffalo.
In the video, Keaton asks his mother a question: “Just curious, why do they do such thing? What’s the purpose of it? Why do you find joy in taking innocent people and finding a way to be mean to them? It’s not okay.”
His mother then asked, “What did they say to you?”
“They make fun of my nose. They call me ugly. They say I have no friends,” Keaton replied, his eyes welling up with tears.
“What did they do to you during lunch?” his mother inquired.
Keaton responded, “Poured milk on me and put ham down my clothes. Threw bread at me.”
Keaton claimed in the video that he experiences it outside of school as well.
“I don’t like that they do it to me, and I certainly don’t like that they do it to others because it’s not okay.”
Keaton created the video to inspire other children to be strong: “People who are different don’t need to be criticized for it. It’s not their fault. If someone makes fun of you, don’t let it bother you. Stay strong. It’s hard, but it will probably get better one day,” Keaton said. His mother uploaded his heartbreaking video on Facebook, which won the hearts of nearly 16 million viewers and garnered almost 330,000 shares!
Justin Bieber was one of the first to reach out to Keaton in an Instagram video, telling him he was a legend and that his concern for other children, not just himself, was admirable: “You got a friend in me, Lil Bro! Send me a DM, and we can chat! Love you, buddy!” Hailee Steinfeld invited Keaton to be her date for the Pitch Perfect 3 premiere on Tuesday. Zedd offered to pay for travel and lodging to attend his event. Camila Cabello expressed her support and told Keaton he was an inspiration to the world, while Demi Lovato assured him he’d come out stronger. Rihanna praised his motivation, emphasizing that we have all experienced bull,ying at some point in our lives, and Charlie Puth admitted to having endured bull.ying for most of his life. Nickelback complimented the youngster for his courage in speaking up.
After the video went viral, additional celebrities expressed their kindness and support for Keaton. Mark Hamill reassured Keaton that bulli.es were only jealous because “you’re so brilliant and handsome.” Kelsea Ballerini, a country music artist, assured Keaton that she would see him in the lunchroom when she returned to her hometown of Knoxville. Sean Hannity, a Fox News host, invited Keaton and his dad to New York City to visit Fox News! Dr. Phil was so moved by the video that he not only tweeted encouragement to Keaton but also offered to tour the hallways of his school with him and sit down for lunch. Donald Trump Jr. also chimed in to express his support when UFC president Dana White told Keaton he was welcome to visit the organization’s headquarters in Las Vegas. Trump Jr. offered Keaton and his family a place to stay if they agreed to White’s offer. Delanie Walker, a Tennessee Titans football standout, offered Keaton tickets to the next game and even created a video of himself reading a poem just for him. Tennessee wide receiver Tyler Byrd plans to attend lunch with Keaton at school this week. “We’re heading to the middle school next Tuesday to show a young man some love. We’ll also live-tweet some of it on Twitter so everyone can express their love and support. #vols #StopBull.ying,” Byrd tweeted.
Bull.ying affects more than 3.2 million adolescents in America annually. Seventeen percent of all US students report experiencing bullying two or three times per month. You can take action against bul.lying by going to StopBullying.gov and learning more about your options.