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Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jon Bernthal,Megyn Kelly among celebrities to support bullied 9-year-old in viral video
People from all over the world are showing their support for a 9-year-old after a video of him saying he wanted to "kill himself" went viral.
In the video, which was posted to Facebook by the child's mother on Tuesday and has since been viewed more than 20 million times, Quaden Bayles can be heard saying "I wish I could stab myself in the heart" and that he "wants someone to kill" him because his classmates relentlessly mocked him about his height. Bayles was born with achondroplasia, a genetic order that results in dwarfism.
As his mother, Yarraka Bayles, filmed him, she questioned why educators and parents weren't doing more to inform their children about the consequences of bullying.
"I want people to know — parents, educators, teachers — this is the effect that bullying has," the mother said in the video. "This is what bullying does. So can you please educate your children? Your families, your friends? … You wonder why kids are killing themselves?"
The video has resonated with millions, including comedian Brad Williams, who also has dwarfism. After viewing the video, Willams started a GoFundMe in Quaden's honor to send the boy to Disneyland, because he is a "wonderful human being who deserves joy."
The GoFundMe has surpassed its original $10,000 goal; as of Friday afternoon, people had donated nearly $250,000.
"This isn’t just for Quaden, this is for anyone who has been bullied in their lives and told they weren’t good enough," Williams wrote in the page's description. "Let’s show Quaden and others that there is good in the world and they are worthy of it."
Other celebrities offered supportive messages to Quaden after viewing the video.
"Quaden, you are stronger than you know, mate, and no matter what you have a friend in me, Jackman said in a video posted to Twitter Thursday. "Let's just remember every person in front of us is facing some kind of battle, so let's just be kind."
Morgan also posted a video of support, in which he said that he'd like to meet Quaden in person.
"It'll get better," Morgan said. "As a dad of a nine-year-old, kids can be horrible and that's because their parents aren't doing their job ... You hang in there."
Eric Trump, the son of Donald Trump, weighed in on the video, calling it "absolutely heartbreaking" and urging Quaden to "stay strong."
Sports teams like the National Rugby League Indigenous All-Stars team have also rallied around the student.
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