Patton Oswalt Stands by Keaton Jones Despite 'Racist' Claims

Tennessee student Keaton Jones has become the face of bullying after a Facebook video posted by [...]

Tennessee student Keaton Jones has become the face of bullying after a Facebook video posted by his mother went viral on Friday, but new details about the family have fans calling for the boy's celebrity advocates to reconsider their support.

Comedian Patton Oswalt was among the high-profile people to voice their love for Jones, who claimed the kids at school poured milk on him and put ham down his shirt.

But after people dug deeper into Kimberly Jones' Facebook page, they discovered several photos of herself and friends holding the Confederate flag. In another post, written two weeks after the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, she preaches unsympathetically to "butt hurt Americans" about what some assume to be racism. Kimberly Jones' Facebook page has since been taken down or closed to public views.

Following this development, a fan asked Oswalt if he planned to denounce his support of the bullying victim.

"Now that we know that Keaton kid and his family are a bunch of racists, are you withdrawing your support?" he wrote.

Oswalt clapped back, writing: "Keaton didn't get to choose the family that raised & shaped him, you smug ghoul. How 'bout showing him that people of all races & creeds can come together? Change things, maybe? Show him a better world?

Another advised Oswalt to allow a video such as Jones' to be "investigated fully before you all jump on the support wagon," they said of the high-profile support he has received.

Jones has been shown an outpouring of support following the video, during which he outlined the bullying he experienced and tearfully delivered a message to other kids.

"I don't like that they do it to me and I sure don't like that they do it to other people," he said. "But if you are made fun of, just don't let it bother you. Stay strong, I guess. It's hard, but it'll probably get better one day."

0comments