Response To TikTok Of Boy Looking For Friends Has Been Incredible!
By Melanie VanDerveer on July 16, 2023 at 2:45 PM EDT
When TikTok creator Brennan Ray shared a video from his doorbell camera of his conversation with a young boy named Shayden going door-to-door in the hopes of finding friends, there was no way he could have predicted what would happen next.
A successful GoFundMe page wasn't the only bonus from sharing the video. Now the kids of TikTok have all reached out a kind hand to Shayden.
Brennan Ray's TikTok Video Has Brought Awareness And The Kids Of TikTok Are Speaking Up
Since Ray shared the video on July 4, his video has received more than 69.7 million views. Many other TikTok creators have shared videos and stitches with messages for the young boy who revealed he was being bullied and in need of friends.
One 11-year-old boy named Ian created a video just for Shayden in the hopes that the two can become friends.
"I heard that you are looking for friends and I wanna be your friend," he said.
Many people took to the comments to say how happy they are to see this and hope that the message reaches Shayden. In the comments, Ian's mom Ronda shared, "the video made it to Shayden and they now talk on the phone."
A follow up explained that her son Ian is in a similar situation as Shayden dealing with bullying, and to share her gratitude for all the kind comments and support. In another update video, Ronda shared that she's now in contact with Shayden's mom and they are building a friendship.
Other children also took to TikTok to express their interest in being friends with Shayden.
The videos of people reaching out to Shayden to be his friend and to bring more awareness to bullying is amazingly never ending. So many people have reached out and it looks like Shayden will now have friends in all ages, near and far.
This Story Has Been Very Positive But There's A Negative Side The Family Wants Everyone To Be Aware Of
Along with all the positive attention, there's been some negative attention sadly. Scammers have swooped into the mix asking for money saying it's for Shayden. The only legit fundraising was done on GoFundMe and that is now closed. The page managed to raise $37,257 for Shayden and his family, and there is no other fundraising happening at this time.
Shayden's stepdad Dustin took to TikTok to share the news of scammers.
"We just want to say thank you so much for all the love and support," he said. "I also want to say that there are several frauds out there. If you see an account for Shayden or Krishna or even myself, that is asking for money or has a cash app, that is not us. We are not gonna ask for your money. You don't even need to be donating to the GoFundMe, but that's the only legitimate way is GoFundMe."
He shared an update saying that there are still so many people making fake accounts of the family. Shayden's mom Krishna's TikTok account was banned, so the only legit account is Dustin's. A few days later, Dustin shared another video announcing that Shayden just recently started his own TikTok account now.
In a follow up video, Dustin shared, "It's been brought to my attention that there is a fake account making videos in poor imitation or Shayden's voice claiming horrible things that I can't repeat here. If you come across this account please report it and help get it removed. Shayden's been bullied enough without people like this."
