Keaton Jones’ mum denies she is trying to make money

The mother of a Tennessee boy who became famous in a video denouncing bullying had denied she is trying to make money from his plight.

Middle-schooler Keaton Jones was recorded in a video revealing his torment from being bullied at school went viral over the weekend.

A plethora of celebrities including Chris Evans, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Donald Trump Jr and LeBron James all took up his anti-bullying message, sharing the video with their huge social media followings.

However, many have taken pause due to two GoFundMe pages that were set up to allegedly help Keaton. One, which raised nearly $60,000 has since been shut down.

Many are questioning how useful donating is to stop the bullying and if Kimberly Jones was just trying to make a quick cash grab.

Middle-schooler Keaton Jones (pictured, left and right) was recorded in a video revealing his torment from being bullied at school went viral over the weekend

‘What did they do to you at lunch?’ his mom asked. Keaton replied: ‘Poured milk on me and put ham down my clothes. Threw bread at me’

Jones allegedly launched a PayPal account in the wake of her son’s video going viral

On Monday, someone identifying themselves as Keaton’s mom Kimberly Jones launched a PayPal account, which was announced on the Instagram account KimberlyJones_38, soliciting donations from well-wishers.

In response her daughter and Keaton’s older sister, Lakyn, wrote on Twitter on Monday: ‘The Instagram KimberlyJones_38 is NOT my mom. She has a private Instagram and hasn’t talked to anyone. We haven’t received any money and don’t plan on it. The gofundme’s [sic] aren’t by any of us.’ 

Also on Monday, MMA fighter Joe Schilling took to his Instagram page and posted an exchange he had with the user @kimberlyjones_38, in which she called what happened to the middle-school ‘an opportunity’ for her son and noted that she is poor, ‘not rich.’ 

Keaton’s older sister, Lakyn, wrote on Twitter on Monday that the account was a fake and they have not set up any GoFundMe pages

Jones also took to her Instagram account on Monday to defend herself against claims she is using her son’s story for money. ‘I love my kids: Ya’ll people do not know me or my family’ (Pictured, Keaton, center, with his sisters)

Kimberly (pictured, standing, center, with Keaton, left, and his sisters) denied MMA fighter Joe Schilling’s claims that she asked him for money over getting a ticket go see an MMA fight

When Schilling responded by accusing the woman of using her son’s pain ‘as a platform’ and declaring that he was no longer interested in getting involved, the user replied: ‘What happened to use whites sticking together and helping one of [sic] another against the predator?’ 

He explained that she allegedly told him, ‘You know Christmas is coming and I’m a single mother, blah, blah, money’s tight.’ 

Kimberly told Fox News that his claims are ‘untrue’ and said in an Instagram direct message ‘I did not tell him that I would rather have donations instead of the help from celebrities.’  

A GoFundMe page that had been set up for Keaton with nearly $60,000 has been shut down and is no longer accepting donations.

GoFundMe says it needs to contact Kimberly Jones, to ensure she’s the beneficiary because the man who started the page doesn’t know her. So far, the company has been unsuccessful in reaching her.

A second GoFundMe page, reportedly started by Ms Jones to solicit money for Keaton’s Christmas gifts has been shut down due to fraud concerns, according to TMZ. 

In the video recording, which Jones posted at her son’s requested, as she claimed, Keaton tells his mother: ‘Just out of curiosity, why do they bully? What’s the point of it? Why do you find joy in taking innocent people and finding a way to be mean to them. It’s not okay.’

His mother then asked: ‘What did they say to you?’

‘They make fun of my nose. They call me ugly. They say I have no friends,’ Keaton answered as tears poured from his eyes.

‘What did they do to you at lunch?’ his mom asked.

Keaton replied: ‘Poured milk on me and put ham down my clothes. Threw bread at me.’

In the video, Keaton said it’s not just him, but others are bullied by kids at school.

‘I don’t like that they do it to me and I for sure don’t like that they do it to other people because it’s not okay,’ he told his mother.

‘People that are different, don’t need to be criticized about it. It’s not their fault. If you are made fun of just don’t let it bother you. Stay strong I guess. It’s hard.

‘Whites sticking together’: MMA fighter Joe Schilling shared this exchange with a social media user believed to be Kimberly Jones 

Schilling said in an Instagram video (above) that he wanted to invite Keaton to an MMA fight but that Jones told him she just wanted  money

Activist Tareeq Nasheed outed Kimberly Jones as what he called a ‘suspected racist’ on Twitter early Monday morning

‘But it’ll probably get better one day,’ Keaton concluded.

His tearjerking video captured the hearts of more than 20 million viewers on Facebook after it was posted by his mother, who has since taken the original video down.

‘For the record, Keaton asked to do this AFTER he had he me pick him up AGAIN because he was afraid to go to lunch,’ his mother Kimberly wrote. 

Jones is also under fire for some alleged posts on a personal Facebook page that has since been set to private. The mom of three is pictured posing with a Confederate flag in one snap, and another picture shows her son holding an American flag while another child holds the Confederate flag.

“”ve taken that down for a reason,’ Jones told Fox News of her Facebook page, without revealing what that reason is.

Jones also took to her Instagram account on Monday to defend herself against claims she is using her son’s story for money.

‘I love my kids: Ya’ll people do not know me or my family,’ Jones wrote. ‘Did y’all know that my son Keaton was spit on in school, picked on by teachers, that supposed to be there for him??? I’m guessing y’all didn’t because y’all wanna steady Judge me and say I’m using him for money that’s false.’

The mom of three is pictured posing with a Confederate flag in one snap, and another picture shows her son holding an American flag while another child holds the Confederate flag (pictured) 

Not mincing words: In August, Jones posted this scathing critique on her Facebook page

Greg Clay, the principal of Horace Maynard Middle School (pictured), where Keaton attends, said he wasn’t aware of Jones being repeatedly bullied and that the incident described in the video had been resolved weeks ago

Greg Clay, the principal of Horace Maynard Middle School, where Keaton attends, said he wasn’t aware of Jones being repeatedly bullied and that the incident described in the video had been resolved weeks ago.

‘It’s not as rampant as the video would have you believe,’ Clay told USA Today. ‘I can’t tell you what was done, but I can tell you action was taken with the children.’

Clay said he wasn’t aware of Jones being repeatedly bullied and that the incident described in the video had been resolved weeks ago.

‘It’s not as rampant as the video would have you believe,’ Clay said. ‘I can’t tell you what was done, but I can tell you action was taken with the children.’

Some parents in the district say their children have been bullied to but that it’s no worse than anywhere else.

LeAnn Ray, whose son is in seventh grade at Horace Maynard, said he faced a bullying problem last year. After reporting the incident to the school resource officer, ‘the kid left him alone’.

Amanda Hensley, Jones’s neighbor, said her daughter, now a junior in high school, also experienced bullying when she was at Horace Maynard a few years ago.

She said her daughter was picked on and called names for being overweight.

‘They like to keep it hid over there,’ Hensley said. ‘Unless something like this comes out, they don’t tell nothing.’

Several celebrities including Chris Evans, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber and Hailee Steinfeld anall expressed their well wishes and pledged to stand with Keaton. Evans and Steinfeld both invited him to movie premieres