Hugh Jackman lends support to bullied girl who said she was threatened and asked to kill herself
10-year-old Pennsylvania girl Cassidy Warner went viral on social media last month after the tearjerking video she posted onto her Facebook page. It described the fiendish bullying she has been the target of since she was in the 1st grade and it was viewed over 2 million times.
Many came out in support of the brave 4th grader for speaking out, and now, she can take further encouragement from knowing that she has the support of Hugh Jackman himself. The Australian actor, known for playing the Wolverine on the big screens, transferred his superhero powers into real life to offer words of reassurance.
Jackman took to his Facebook page to respond to Warner, writing: "Hi Cassidy... I’m Hugh. I want you to know you’re loved, special & smart. You’re strong, funny & beautiful both inside and out. BULLYING IS NOT OK. Please never stop asking for help. You will find it from people and places you never thought possible. I’m your friend."
In the emotional selfie video, Cassidy holds up cards detailing out her struggle with bullying at the John Adams Elementary School since the 1st grade. She wrote: "One day during recess a group of kids grabbed my purse from a teacher and spit on it...and me."
The next card continued the tale: "The group of kids always come up to me during recess, trying to fight me. They hit me, kicked me, pulled my hair, pushed me, stepped on me, spit on me. Kids don't even want to go near me. Whenever I sit at a lunch table, the other kids get up."
She said that they call her names and spilled milk all over her jacket. Her story gets darker, with the 4th grader stating that the bullies had threatened to kill her and told her to go kill herself, adding that there were four of them but just one of her.
She ends the heartbreaking video by holding up cards which read: "The principal doesn't do anything. I feel so alone, I feel like I have no one. It hurts. This is my story Stop bullying! Not just for me, for other kids too! Thank you."
The video was reposted by Cassidy's mother after her Facebook account was shut down this month and her father told the Scranton Times-Tribune that his daughter's school has changed their lunch period and recess in response to the backlash.
He told ABC News that when he first saw the video on Facebook, he was at a loss for words and heartbroken: "It just devastated me. I don't know how to explain how it made me feel...even talking about it I get choked up."