Quaden Bayles: Schoolboy bullied for dwarfism leads Indigenous All Stars rugby league team onto pitch in Australia

Katy Clifton22 February 2020

A nine-year-old boy who spoke out in a heartbreaking video about being bullied has led a rugby league team onto the pitch in Australia.

In a video which went viral, Quaden Bayles was filmed by his mother Yarraka in tears as he described being picked on in school.

The schoolboy was flooded with support from across the globe and was sent a message from Hugh Jackman, who told Quaden: "No mater what, you have a friend in me."

He also received an invitation on Thursday to walk the Indigenous All Stars onto the pitch at the Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Quaden Bayles runs onto the field before the match
Getty Images

The crowd at the stadium erupted at the sight of Quaden hand-in-hand with captain Joel Thompson as he clutched a rugby ball.

The Indigenous All-Stars are taking on the New Zealand Maori Kiwis All-Stars on Saturday.

The Australian team shared a touching message to the schoolboy on Thursday, with Latrell Mitchell telling Quaden: "Hey Quadey… Just wanted to wish you all the best brother, we know you’re going through a hard time right now but the boys are here.

"‘We’ve got your back, we’re here to support you bud. We just want to make sure you’re doing alright."

Quaden Bayles looks on with Cody Walker of the Indigenous All-Stars 
Getty Images

He added: "We want you around, we want you to lead us down on the weekend. It’s going to mean more to us than it will to you bud.

"Just make sure you’re looking after yourself and hopefully we get to see you in the next couple of days."

Quaden Bayles runs onto the field before the match 
Getty Images

Other celebrities rallied behind the young boy after the video went viral this week.

Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, wrote: "The cruelty is as astonishing as it is heartbreaking."

"This is one of the hardest videos I've watched," Boston Celtics basketball player Enes Kanter wrote on Twitter.

"No place in the world for bullies."

A GoFundMe page started by American comedian Brad Williams has raised more than $140,000 in an effort to send Quaden on a trip to Disneyland.

In the original video posted on social media, Yarraka describes witnessing another boy pat her son on the head and make fun of his height as she picks him up from school.

"We just went to pick him up and saw a student patting him on the head and making fun of his height," she said.

"He ran to the car in hysterics because he doesn't want me to make a scene at the school."

Quaden was upset after a day at school
Yarraka/ Facebook

Quaden can be heard to say: "I want to kill myself."

The nine year-old is the face of Stand Tall 4 Dwarfism, a campaign group against bullying.

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