The internet has turned on the mother of Keaton Jones, the Tennessee boy who tearfully described a bullying incident in a viral video, after several social media posts surfaced of her proudly displaying the Confederate flag and making potentially bigoted remarks.
Kimberly Jones initially captured international attention on Friday by posting the video of Keaton, who can be seen sobbing and questioning the motivations of his tormentors at middle school. âWhy do they bully?â Keaton asks in the video, which Kimberly Jones recorded in her car after picking him up from school. The video has been viewed more than 20 million times, sparking a tremendous outpouring of sympathy on social media and a flood of attention from celebrities inviting him to concerts, movie premieres and sporting events. Among some of Keatonâs more high-profile backers were Justin Bieber and âAvengers: Infinity Warâ co-stars Chris Evans (Captain America) and Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), who invited him to the filmâs premiere.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page launched to raise money for Keaton garnered nearly US$57,000 in two days.
But the internet abruptly soured on Keatonâs story on Monday, after TMZ revealed several troubling screenshots taken from his motherâs Facebook page. One image showed Kimberly Jones smiling broadly beside a man holding up a Confederate flag. Another group shot showed Keaton standing next to another boy holding a Confederate flag. A third post, published two weeks after the Charlottesville riot, urges âbutt hurt Americansâ to stop talking about âmetaphorical, emotional, financial or historical blood and brokenness.â
The post said: âIf you arenât bleeding, no bones are sticking out and you can breathe, STOP crying! For the love, some folks clearly never picked a switch.â
Critics pounced on the news, labelling Jones a racist and accusing her son of being one as well. Some suggested she was trying to capitalize on the support for her son by attempting to pocket the $57,000 pledged through the GoFundMe page, which has since stopped accepting donations. Many also circulated unsubstantiated claims that Keaton was bullied because he was being racist to other kids.
white ppl: "Where's the video of Keaton using the N word?"
â gif reactions (@GlF_reactions)
black ppl: "Where's the video of him being bullied?"
me:
Several celebrities who had offered their sympathy and support to the boy, including Rihanna and Snoop Dogg, have since deleted their posts.
Evans and Ruffalo did not publicly revoke their âAvengersâ invitation to Keaton. However, on Monday they retweeted a video of a young black boy explaining his upbeat response to bullying. âThis young man is my Hero too,â Ruffalo said, adding that he wants the boy to attend the Avengers premiere with him.
âThis kid is gonna do big things,â Evans tweeted.
This young man is my Hero too. The kids know in their hearts what is right. Both want to be accepted outside of their appearance. Me and would like to invite this gentleman to the premiere of as our guest.
â Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo)
This kid is gonna do big things
â Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans)
Don Cheadle, who plays War Machine in the âAvengersâ films, issued several tweets discussing Keaton and the accusations against his mother on Monday. âNot that the sins of the mother should visit the child but War Machine confused,â he . He that taking Keaton to the film is âoff the table as far as Iâm concerned.â