Quaden Bayles makes a sad admission years after he went viral after being bullied at school – despite his Hollywood career taking off
- Quaden Bayles was nine when a video about being bullied went viral
- The Indigenous boy with dwarfism, touched hearts around the world
- Three years later he is still bullied but much less and is loving high school
Quaden Bayles, the Indigenous boy with dwarfism whose battle with bullying touched the world, says he is loving high school but still gets hate.
In 2020 his mother, Yarraka Bayles, posted a distressing video of her son to Facebook, where Quaden – who was born with a type of dwarfism known as achondroplasia – is seen sobbing uncontrollably and asking for a knife to kill himself after being picked on at school.
At the start of the five-minute clip, Ms Bayles is heard saying: ‘I just picked my son up from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal, and I want people to know this is the effect bullying has. This is what bullying does.’
‘So can you please educate your children, your families, your friends because all it takes is one more instance… and you wonder why kids are killing themselves.
‘We try to be as strong as positive as possible and only share the highlights… but this is how bullying affects a nine-year-old kid.’
Three years on, Quaden told Australian Story he still experiences bullying, but it is nowhere near as bad, and he is loving life as a high schooler.
‘I’m just so happy now that I’m in high school like I’m not in primary school. It’s finally over,’ he said.
‘I am not sitting on the carpets and grounds; I love high school now.
‘But I still get hate here and there, but it’s not as bad as it was back then.’
Indigenous boy with dwarfism Quaden Bayles (right) says he is still bullied but is loving high school, three years on from a video of him asking for a knife to take his life went viral.
The 2020 viral video caught the attention of celebrities from around the world, who threw their support behind Quaden and his family’s fight against bullying.
Hollywood superstar Jackman posted a video on Twitter in which he said: ‘Quaden, you are stronger than you know, mate. And no matter what, you’ve got a friend in me.’
The Wolverine actor went on to urge his fans to ‘please be kind to each other’.
Ms Bayles shared the original video of Quaden in a bid to raise awareness about the impact of bullying but the worldwide attention led to the young man getting movie roles
Ms Bayles shared the original video of Quaden in a bid to raise awareness about the impact of bullying but the worldwide attention led to the young man getting movie roles.
The 11-year-old has completed filming for his role in the latest instalment of the Mad Max film franchise.
He is also cast alongside Chris Hemsworth in his upcoming movie Furiosa, a prequel to his 2015 post-apocalyptic action hit Fury Road.
In March Quaden told NITV that he has another major film project lined up, and is also working on his own original music.
‘I am filming a little something, something going on. I can’t say,’ the 11-year-old said.
‘Mad Max was my first ever big movie role. For me, I was like “wow”. I didn’t know I was going to be who I am today.
‘I’ve been working on some music, making some beats at school. I’m going in the studio and doing some mad raps with my friends.
‘I want to start learn how to rap, start freestyling.’
In March Quaden (pictured at the premiere of Three Thousand Years of Longing in 2022) revealed he will star in another movie and is working on some rap music
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