GoFundMe for Bullied Tennessee Boy Is Temporarily Halted

(PoliticOwl/Youtube Screenshot)

The GoFundMe page for Tennessee boy Keaton Jones---who, in a viral video, said he was bullied by his classmates---was shut down temporarily.

More than $50,000 was raised for the family of Jones. Joe Lam, the administrator of the GoFundMe page, told TheWrap that he halted the fundraiser after Kimberly Jones, boy’s mother, was accused of racism.

Lam, a 37-year-old New Jersey man, said he didn’t know the Jones family, but he wanted to help them.

He received feedback from “a lot of people with concerns” about the alleged racism. “I’m more concerned with the kid,” he told the website.

“I would like to do a college fund for the kid, it’s not the kid’s fault,” he told TheWrap.

In a GoFundMe update, Lam said that “I don’t know the family personally and never claimed to have known them.” He added that he’s in touch with GoFundMe “on how to proceed at this point.”

“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 that’s a kid with a heart of gold and deserves praise,” he added.

TMZ also reported that GoFundMe said that it needs to contact person who started the page. “GoFundMe says it needs to contact Keaton’s mom, Kimberly Jones, to ensure she’s the beneficiary ... since the guy who started the page doesn’t know her. So far, the company’s been unable to reach her,” the website stated.

“There was a second GoFundMe page, purportedly started by Kimberly herself which solicited money for Keaton’s Christmas gifts. Sources close to the situation tell us that was immediately shut down by GoFundMe due to fraud concerns -- namely, whether it was really started by Kimberly,” according to TMZ.

The video of the boy’s crying drew the attention of many celebrities on social media.

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