The story of Keaton Jones keeps getting stranger and at least $57K is in the balance. Keaton became a viral internet star as 2017 comes to a close because of a tearful video that was made of him crying after being bullied.
Since the video went viral, a host of celebrities offered support for Keaton and more than $60K in donations poured into a GoFundMe account set up by his mother, Kimberly Jones. But within a week, the story of Keaton’s bullying was picked apart. According to unnamed sources, Keaton was bullying a Black student with the N-word and other kids were trying to make him stop. Then it was revealed that his mother was posting Confederate flag images and making racist comments on social media. It seems that top celebrities like Snoop Dogg, LeBron James and others have fallen for the new racist version of the Nigerian email scam. Instead of a trapped prince or official, it’s a bullied White boy and his loving mom who need your money. It’s almost a wonder that President Donald Trump has not mentioned Keaton’s bullying in a speech or invited him to the White House.
As the story of Keaton draws to a close, it has now been announced that his GoFundMe account has stopped taking donations. According to the NY Daily News, a GoFundMe spokesperson has stated that “the funds raised on [Joseph] Lam’s page are paused until the company verifies a campaign beneficiary. The company is working to make sure the money goes to Keaton.”
As the story of the bullying unraveled, Black Twitter was there on the scene with comments:
Keaton & his Mama almost scammed the whole world and they would’ve gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for that meddling Black Twitter.
— James O (@JamesO_13) December 11, 2017
Watching this entire Keaton scenario play out like pic.twitter.com/ljg9Hrb7Lw
— Nathan Lamonakis (@LamonJames9) December 11, 2017
Keaton when he gets bullied again in school. That GoFundMe account gone numbers. pic.twitter.com/1l14HLROAR
— Ryou (@ChasedownJames) December 11, 2017
So Keaton was really calling kids niggers and got done up?
Boy, f–k you. pic.twitter.com/l0Wi3oMGwW
— Poor Man’s James Harden 🇬🇾 (@LiveFromTheFive) December 11, 2017
I’m genuinely so mad at the number of people that donated to that Keaton kid. A racist family have gained all that money, and for what?Did u think that was going to ‘end’ bullying? Look at their values and then consider what u think they’re actually gonna do with that money lol
— james (@fireexitdoor) December 11, 2017
3 days ago – “Keaton gets bullied at school, everyone feels sorry for him”
4 hours ago -“Keaton and his family are racists and she’s begging for money pic.twitter.com/512jc1xl3t— 👒 (@JamesZelmerlow) December 12, 2017
The whole Internet loves Keaton, the adorable little kid who spoke to all our hearts
[5 minutes later] pic.twitter.com/CJkPziJGSl
— Tom James (@TACJ) December 11, 2017
Keaton’s mom after scamming everyone and collecting $60K. pic.twitter.com/mk3c6qfKIN
— Denizcan James (@MrFilmkritik) December 11, 2017
UPDATE: The GoFundMe page, “Stand up for Keaton,” was created by Joseph Lam of Buena, New Jersey. Lam posted this comment on Go Fund Me:
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!! 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.