Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga are among
the celebrities who have tweeted support for bullied eighth grader
Jonah Mowry.
Mowry says he's been a victim of
bullying since the first grade.
Accompanied by the track Breathe Me
from Sia Furler, Jonah tells his heartbreaking story through a series
of postcards in a nearly 5-minute video originally posted on YouTube
in August and viewed more than 500,000 times.
“Hi!:) I'm Jonah,” says the first
card, which he holds up to the camera.
“Suicide was an option … many
times,” a later card reads.
“The first time I cut myself was in
the SECOND GRADE.”
“I get bullied everyday. This
started in the 1st grade.”
As his eyes begin to well up, Jonah
says: “I'm scared to go back.”
“A lot of people hate me. I don't
know why. But I guess I kind of do. Because I kinda hate me too.”
“Gay. Fag. Dick. Douche. Homo.
Asshole. The list goes on and on.”
“But,” he adds, “I'm not going
anywhere. Because I'm stronger than that. And I have a million
reasons to be here.”
He drops the cards, waves goodbye and
turns off the camera. (The video is embedded in the right panel of
this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
“Sending @JonahMowryReal one big rib
breaking hug :0)! Stay strong buddy! You are 1 courageous young
man!!” singer Ricky Martin tweeted.
Lady Gaga added: “Thank you Jonah for
being brave enough to share your story + showing us strength. You
matter to millions.”