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Pharrell Williams and Ellie Goulding are among the celebs who pledged their support of Sean from London, aka Dancing Man, who was fat-shamed for dancing in an online post.
Dance on, Dancing Man! In a touching show of viral support, a London man has been identified and given a mass e-hug by thousands after he was fat-shamed by online bullies. Leading the charge in the overnight social media movement is Los Angeles activist Cassandra Fairbanks, who was stunned when a photo of the man was posted on chat site 4chan and a string of cruel comments followed.
The Olympic swimmer — who won eight gold medals in Beijing — was picked on as a kid for his gangly form and big ears. “The bullying and adversity made him be stronger and work harder,” his mom told
"Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing," read the post, which was accompanied by two photos of the man, depicting him happy and then humiliated.
In an effort to locate the man and offer words of encouragement, Fairbanks posted to her Twitter account on March 5 using the hashtag #FindDancingMan. About 12 hours later, the man was identified as Sean from London, and he happily accepted Cassandra's invitation to attend the biggest dance party ever.
Anyone know this man or who posted this? There's a huge group of ladies in LA who would like to do something special pic.twitter.com/DGbu3AXOrB
L.A.'s Coliseum has already offered to host the party, and fans worldwide have contributed to the more than $35,000 raised for the bash on a GoFundMe page. Organizers say any money not used for Sean's party will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.
As Good Samaritan Fairbanks confirms, Sean's spirits are high, and have been lifted by the Internet support. "From talking to @DancingManFound, I can tell he's going to out party us all!" Fairbanks tweeted.
