The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan Shows Support to Bullied Boy in Viral Video

The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan is among those showing support for Quaden Bayles, a [...]

The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan is among those showing support for Quaden Bayles, a nine-year-old boy who in a viral video says bullying makes him suicidal. The video, which has been viewed more than 12 million times since it was shared by Yarraka Bayles on Facebook to show "the impacts of bullying," was filmed after Bayles witnessed a "bullying episode" when picking up Quaden from school. Through tears, Quaden says, "Give me a rope. I want to kill myself ... I want someone to kill me." Bayles explains Quaden was born with Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and every day Quaden faces "another episode, another bullying, another taunt, another name-calling."

"I've just picked up my son from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal and I want people to know — parents, educators, teachers — this is the effect that bullying has," Bayles says in the video. "This is what bullying does. So can you please educate your children, your families, your friends, because all it takes is for one more incident, and you wonder why kids are killing themselves."

While Bayles urges for viewers to provide "any advice or support or anything that other parents or families have done to help raise disability awareness and education within the school so that this doesn't happen," Quaden says again, "I want to die."

"This is the effect of bullying, this is what it's doing," an emotional Bayles says. "I want people to know how much it is hurting us as a family. I want people to educate their children. The whole anti-bullying sh-t isn't f—ing working. And I've got a son that is suicidal almost every single day, every time there's a triggering [event]. Anything that happens at school or in public, which is almost every time we're in public."

Bayles told Australia's SBS she witnessed one of Quaden's classmates "patting him on the head and making references to his height."

"You could tell he was very uncomfortable but he was so good at trying to shrug things off, he doesn't want people to know how much it's affecting him, he's so strong and confident but it's times like these when you just see him crumble," Bayles said. "It was just heartbreaking to watch, it made me feel helpless." Quaden was "hysterical," prompting Bayles to record his reaction to show the effect of bullying.

According to SBS, Quaden has made "constant" attempts on his life.

"I have copped a lot of backlash for it, I thought twice about deleting it ... but I wanted people to see the effect bullying is having on my child," Bayles said of the video. "If I don't stand up and speak out for him, who will?"

One of those voices is Morgan, a father of two who plays Negan on The Walking Dead.

"What I want you to know is that you have friends, me included. I am your buddy. You haven't met me yet, but we'll see if we change that for one," Morgan says in a video addressed to Quaden and his mother. "You have a bunch of friends out here in the world that you haven't met yet, but we're here and we've got your back. And you need to know that it'll get better. As the dad of a nine-year-old, kids can be horrible, and that's because their parents aren't doing their job. It'll get better, I promise it will."

Morgan urged Bayles to reach out through direct message on his Twitter account, where Morgan published the video.

SBS reports Quaden has been removed from school after three weeks and will likely begin home schooling. Bayles does not blame the child who triggered the emotional video or the school, adding she hopes more efforts are taken to prevent Quaden and other children from suffering the effects of bullying and harassment, including a school-wide address or workshops.

"That would solve so many of the problems, I have already spoken about this at the school, it would protect the other kids with disabilities and help make them feel safe," she said. "Even if their whole class does something, a teacher reads a book for example, there's so many things we can do. It should be a part of the curriculum by now."

Comedian Brad Williams, also born with Achondroplasia, has started a GoFundMe aiming to "send a wonderful kid to Disneyland." Williams says he's in touch with Bayles and the funds will be used to send her and her son on a multi-day trip to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, with the remainder of the donations going to anti-bullying/anti-abuse charities.

As of Thursday, Feb. 20, just 20 hours after the fundraiser was started, the effort has raised over $68,000.

New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.

Photo credits: Getty Images for AMC/Tommaso Boddi

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