Things are taking a dark turn after Hollywood rallied around 11-year-old student Keaton Jones, whose viral video about being bullied has been taken down after alleged racist comments and photos with a confederate flag were discovered on his mother Kimberly Jones’ Facebook page.
As previously reported, stars, including Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato and Millie Bobby Brown, were quick to reach out and support the Tennessee student, who said his classmates make fun of him.
“They make fun of my nose. They call me ugly. They say I have no friends,” he said in the video. “Just out of curiosity, why do they bully? What’s the point of it? Why do you find joy in taking innocent people and finding a way to be mean to them? It’s not OK. … People that are different don’t need to be criticized about it. It’s not their fault.”
Chris Evans even invited Keaton to the premiere of 2018 premiere of Avengers: Infinity War. But on Monday, December 11, stars like Billy Eichner, Patton Oswalt, John Mayer and more reacted to the controversial photos that were reportedly found on Kimberly’s Facebook page, which has now been deleted.
“Well I’m inviting Keaton to the Golden Globes and making him sit with the cast of Get Out,'” Eichner tweeted.
“Keaton didn’t get to choose the family that raised & shaped him, you smug ghoul,” Oswalt responded to a twitter user who asked whether he would continue to support Keaton. “How ‘bout showing him that people of all races & creeds can come together? Change things, maybe? Show him a better world?”
“Keaton’s a little kid,” Oswalt wrote to another user. “His family hasn’t allowed him any real perspective yet.”
“If #Keaton was making racially bullying statements he and his mom needs to go to the principles office too & give an apology to those kids,” actress Patricia Arquette wrote.
“Keaton never said those things. He’s not a racist and we don’t condone that behavior,” the boy’s sister Lakyn Jones replied.
Sportscenter host Jemele Hill, who invited Keaton to ESPN wrote, “I’ve seen her posts and if true, I’d say there’s potential for a great, teachable moment here. My offer for Keaton to visit ESPN stands, because what happened to him was cruel. That said, this is a stark example of selective empathy.”
“Pay attention to the Keaton/bullying story lifeline as it plays out,” Mayer began in a series of tweets. “In many ways it’s the perfect example of how we’ve come to create completely synthetic experiences in 2017.”
“We have a real boy in a real place with a really emotionally stirring problem,” he continued. “Video of this is ultimately posted to Twitter. This is the last real event to have occurred. The rest (if you agree that twitter is a thought space) is playing out in our minds.”
A GoFundMe page for Keaton, “Stand Up for Keaton,” which raised nearly $60,000 in two days, has been put on hold and is no longer accepting donations.
“As many of you know I paused the donations as well as the comments. As I sit back and read these comments and watched the video again I feel I have to make this update. THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE MOM!!” the latest statement on the GoFundMe page reads. “However passing judgement on her before you know her is a form of bullying. Condemnation before evaluation is the ultimate form of ignorance. I can’t even say for sure that any of whats being said is true. I don’t know the family personally and never claimed to have known them. This is about a kid who’s been bullied and not just one kid, Keaton, there are many unspoken cases about kids being bullied. We have to be the voice for the voiceless. In the video I saw a kid crying not just for himself but for others. To me thats a kid with a heart of gold and deserves praise. Im hoping that we can turn the money into something good whether it be for private school or college fund. Im in touch with GFM on how to proceed at this point. Thank you every one that donated.”
TMZ reports that a second GoFundMe page, allegedly started by Kimberly to solicit donations for Christmas gifts for Keaton has been shut down due to fraud concerns — it’s unclear if the page was actually started by the boy’s mom.
