The mother of Tennessee tween Keaton Jones is defending herself against accusations that she and her family are racist after photos emerged of her and her bullied son posing with Confederate flags.
‘I feel like anybody who wants to take the time to ask anybody who I am or even troll through some other pictures, I mean I feel like we’re not racist,’ said Kimberly Jones on Tuesday.
‘I mean, people that know us, know us.’
The mother-of-three then defended the Confederate flag pictures she and her daughter posted to their social media accounts by stating: ‘It was meant to be ironic and funny and extreme. I am genuinely truly sorry. If I could take it back, I would.’
Kimberly was joined by Keaton for the pre-taped segment, which aired on Good Morning America just 24 hours after many began to question her motives upon seeing these images.
Union County school officials meanwhile have confirmed that Keaton was in fact that victim of at least one recent bullying incident.
Response: Kimberly Jones appeared on Good Morning America (above with son Keaton) to address accusations that she and her family are racist
Offensive optics: The mother of bullied Tennessee tween Keaton Jones has been attacked after photos emerged of her (above) and her son posing with Confederate flags
Explanation: She said of the photos: ‘It was meant to be ironic and funny and extreme. I am genuinely truly sorry. If I could take it back, I would’
Kimberly also addressed those who believe she is simply looking to profit of her son’s misfortune, pointing to the multiple Go Fund Me accounts that have been launched in the past few days for Keaton.
She explained that only one of those pages has her blessing and the others are fake. That official Go Fund Me has since been frozen.
The mother also urged people to try and look beyond their misgivings about her and continue to voice their support for her young son.
‘They want to hate me, I mean, whatever, that’s fine, but still talk to your kids,’ said Kimberly of her detractors.
‘Talk to your kids because this is – this is – this is an epidemic.’
It has only been four days since Kimberly posted the video of her sobbing son explaining why he was too afraid to go to lunch at his middle school.
The 11-year-old boy claimed that other students call him ugly, make fun of his nose and tell him he has no friends.
Keaton also alleged that milk was poured on him and ham shoved down his clothes by these bullies.
“Just out of curiosity, why do they bully?’ asked Keaton while looking directly at his mother’s camera phone.
‘What’s the point of it? Why do they find joy in taking innocent people and find a way to be mean to them? It’s not OK.’
He then went on to say while tears streamed down his face: ‘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.’
Over 20 million people had viewed the video on Kimberly’s Facebook page before she shut down the account on Monday.
Kimberly quickly shuttered all her social media accounts once the confederate flag photos began to emerge online.
There were also claims that a PayPal account soliciting donations was launched by someone under Kimberly’s name.
Kimberly’s daughter Lakyn took to social media soon after learning of this Paypal account, explaining: ‘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 aren’t by any of us.’
She then added: ‘Those who know me and my family know we aren’t racist. My brother doesn’t say the “N” word. Please leave it alone.’
Lakyn also made a point of leaving up the image she posted to social media of herself and her brother posing with the Confederate flag that ignited the controversy.
She posted the image on the Fourth of July back in 2015, writing: ‘Murica #WelcomeToTheDirtySouth #Happy4th.’
Focus: Kimberly said that she had no problem with people hating her but hopes they will continue to support her 11-year-old son
Family matters: Union County public school officials did confirm that a bullying incident did occur recently involving Keaton (Kimberly and her three children above)
It seems that many people are standing by Keaton’s side for the time being, though the wave of celebrities eager to voice their support for the boy on social media has died down over the past two days.
A number of celebrities from Chris Evans and LeBron James to Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez recorded videos or posted heartwarming messages for the boy over the weekend.
Evans even invited him to the premiere of the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.
‘All this attention really just feels amazing,’ said Keaton.
‘[I’m] speechless, honestly. I did not ever imagine for any of this to happen.’
Keaton’s school is also addressing the issue of bullying it was revealed on Monday.
‘To fulfill our mission of educating all children in Union County Public Schools, we must provide an academic environment that is safe, civil and supportive,’ read a statement from Union County Public Schools director James Carter.
‘We do not and will not tolerate bullying and have a policy in place that addresses conduct taking place on school grounds, at any school-sponsored activity, on school-provided transportation or at any official school bus stop.’
Keaton said on CBS This Morning that he is still happy with how things have played out in the days since his video was posted online.
‘It made me feel like I had accomplished something real. Something that could actually change the world,’ said the boy.
Keaton also explained why he made the video, stating: ‘I had enough of it. They had said that someone was going to beat me up in lunch so I texted my mom and I said “what do I do here?”‘
He was then quick to note however that the video was his idea, saying he was reluctant to tells administrators at the school or his teachers out of fear that the five boys who were taunting him would make good on their threats.
‘He became more and more agitated and didn’t want to go back to school,’ explained Kimberly.
Keaton’s embattled mother was not as enthusiastic with the reception, explaining: ‘I knew that it could be great and I knew that it could be awful. And it has been.’
She also used that interview to further address the photos of her and Keaton with Confederate flags.
‘The only two photos on my entire planet that I am anywhere near a confederate flag. It was ironic. It was funny,’ she said in that pre-taped interview.
When then asked if there was any racist intent at all, Kimberly responded: ‘No, absolutely not.’
She then added: ‘I’ve spent most of my life being judged because I wasn’t racist.’