A video posted of a young Australian boy with dwarfism crying moments after he had been bullied at school has brought an outpouring of support, including from celebrities and sports teams.
Perhaps most impressive is a GoFundMe campaign set up by comedian Brad Williams, who also has dwarfism. Started just one day ago with a goal of $10,000 to send Quaden Bayles, 9, and his mother, Yarraka Bayles, to Disneyland, it had raised nearly $200,000 as of early Friday morning. More than 9,000 people had donated.
In the video, which was posted on Facebook on Tuesday and has more than 18 million views, Quaden is seen crying after kids at his school mocked him for his height. “I wish I could stab myself in my heart,” Quaden cries. “I want someone to kill me.”
The video quickly went viral and has brought messages of support under the hashtag #stopbullying on Twitter. Australian actor Hugh Jackman posted his own message to Quaden on Twitter:
Pls, please, stop with the cruelty. Kindness. Love. Friendship. Understanding. What else matters? Pls, teach your children what bullying does to its targets. What kind of people do we want to be? https://t.co/XVDhjdUo2L — Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) February 21, 2020
The BBC reports Boston Celtics star Enes Kanter tweeted “the world is behind you” and invited the family to an NBA game. In Australia, the indigenous rugby league side invited him to be lead the team at a match this weekend, the BBC reports.
