0/5

Australian Story: Oct 26

Australian Story next Monday will profile 9 yr old Quaden Bayles.

“About A Boy” on Australian Story next Monday will profile Quaden Bayles, a nine-year-old Indigenous boy with dwarfism.

This episode is introduced Brooke Boney.

The nine-year-old boy with dwarfism who triumphed over the trolls.

Quaden Bayles and his mum Yarraka reveal what really went on behind the scenes after they unwittingly unleashed a social media storm.

In February this year Yarraka posted a heartbreaking video of Quaden who was distraught after being bullied at school.

Within hours the video had spread across the world and has since been viewed tens of millions of times.

“He was hysterical. He wanted something done right there and then. I said, ‘Quaden I want everyone to see how this is affecting you,’” Yarraka says.

There was a huge outpouring of support and a crowdfunding campaign.

But the haters also came out in force, accusing Quaden of being an adult who was scamming the public for financial gain.

Yarraka enlisted the help of lawyers to counteract the lies and launched defamation proceedings against Daily Telegraph columnist Miranda Devine for re-tweeting misinformation.

“I think it’s really concerning that you have high profile people that don’t do their due diligence … a lot of people obviously believed her,” Yarraka says.

At the heart of this story is a young boy with ongoing health issues who just wants to fit in and is tired of being made to feel different.

“Just be a bit more respectful and be more kind and not rude,” Quaden sa

Producer: Rebecca Armstrong

8pm Monday on ABC.

Leave a Reply