When harsh bullies criticized Quaden Bayles, 9, for his dwarfism, he said to his mother as they were journeying home: “Give me a knife, I want to kill myself.”
His mother, Yarraka Bayles, from the Australian state of Queensland, captured the chilling moment on her phone.
In effort to raise awareness of the impact of bullying, his mother posted the heartbreaking video on Facebook this week. In the video, she said her son had previously attempted suicide.
“This is what bullying does,” she said in the video. “Can you please educate your children, your families, your friends?”
Yet what began as a plea has quickly become a movement. The video has been viewed 16 million times since it was posted on Tuesday, with Bayles receiving a massive outpouring of support from around the world, according to local reports.
Australian actor Hugh Jackman chimed in, posting a video message to Twitter telling Bayles: “No matter what, you’ve got a friend in me.”
Quaden – you’ve got a friend in me. #BeKind @LokelaniHiga https://t.co/8dr3j2z8Sy pic.twitter.com/jyqtZYC953
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) February 20, 2020
“Quaden, you are stronger than you know, mate,” Jackman said. “Everyone, let’s just please be kind to each other. Bullying is not OK, period.”
What’s more, comedian Brad Williams set up a Go-Fund Me page … already raising nearly $170,000 — and he’s using the money to send Bayles and his mother to Disneyland in California.
“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 said on the fundraising page. “Let’s show Quaden and others that there is good in the world and they are worthy of it.”
Bayles, who was born with a condition called achondroplasia dwarfism, is the face of Stand Tall 4 Dwarfism, a charity set up by his mother to raise awareness and stop bullying, according to Seven News.
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