Carolina Panther Among Celebrities Supporting Bullied Teen

A mom's heartbreaking video of her son tearfully pleading bullies to stop picking on those that are different has been shared more than 364,000 times over the span of a few days, and now numerous professional athletes and actors are taking to twitter to offer the Tennessee boy, Keaton, their support. That support included at least one Carolina Panthers player who openly denounced the harassment aimed at the boy.

In the tear-jerking video posted to Facebook on Thursday, Keaton asks his mom, Kimberly Jones, "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? Not ok!"

Panthers placekicker Graham Gano was one of a growing list of celebrities who took to social media, calling the actions heartbreaking and urging kids to stand up for one another.

“I don’t know why kids think it’s ok to pick on and make fun of other kids,” Gano said in a tweet Monday. “There’s no place for it at all.”

The video is utterly heartbreaking. When Keaton’s mother asks him what the bullies said to him a trembling Keaton replied "they make fun of my nose, they call me ugly, they say I have no friends."

He later adds that the bullies poured milk on him, put ham down his clothes and threw bread at him.

When Jones asks him how it feels to be bullied, Keaton says it's not ok.

"People that are different don't need to be criticized about it, because it's not their fault," he said. "But if you are made fun of, just don't let it bother you. They suck, I guess. Hard. But it will probably get better one day."

The video comes shortly after a 13-year-old girl in California hanged herself after facing intense bullying at school.

Jones' video has been shared more than 371,000 times on Facebook, has been viewed about 18 million times as of Sunday evening and gained about 141,000 comments from people across the globe. It's even gained the attention of some prominent celebrities and athletes, including some prominent superheroes.

Chris Evans, who plays Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, offered Keaton some words of encouragement and invited both him and his mom to watch the new Avengers movie premiere in Los Angeles next year.

Similarly, Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk in the Avengers, offered his support and said he, too, was bullied as a kid.

Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker tweeted a video to Keaton offering up four tickets for him and his family to come see the team play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 31.

Others who offered up their support include Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven on the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, and Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. White also said he wanted to hang out with Keaton at the UFC's headquarters.

A GoFundMe campaign launched in Keaton’s honor had collected more than $58,000 by Monday afternoon before it stopped taking donations. “For those of you whom are wondering EVERY DOLLAR goes to the Jones Family!! It will be up to them to do the right thing with maybe a College Fund or even private schooling for Keaton to pull him away out of that environment,” said Joseph Lam, who started the campaign.

Patch Editor Daniel Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo via Pixabay