A 12-year-old black boy was abused and shamed by his family members, including mother, for coming out as a gay. The family members ridiculed the preteen, identified as Tyler, during an Instagram Live.
The graphic video, which has left several netizens shocked, has gone viral on social media with #JusticeForTyler trending on social media.
Boy's Head Shaved, Gay Written
In the 45-second viral video, Tyler is seen standing with one arm across his chest while the other under his chin. The front of his head is seen shaved and there is 'Gay' shaved on the left side of his head.
The boy hailing from Atlanta, Georgia is seen surrounded by four adults including a woman. According to Hollywood Unlocked, the man caught abusing Tyler was his brother while the woman behind the camera was his sister.
The video starts with the woman behind the camera saying, "Now we gonna show them you getting your ass beat." The man wearing a white T-shirt is seen wrapping is hand around the back of Tyler's neck as the boy is seen getting uncomfortable.
You say you're what?" asks the man, to which Tyler responds, "Nothing." Then the man asks him to repeat.
"And he like this shit," a woman says in the background.
"You still doing gay s*it" the man says. "You think this on the side of your head for no reason," questions the man while pointing out the word "gay" shaved across the side of Tyler's head. He then proceeds to hit Tyler's head and push pushes him violently making the preteen almost fall backwards.
A woman in the background says, "You like this type of stuff," after which the man punches Tyler in the arm.
Outrage On Social Media
The social media was left shocked by the graphic details in the video. "That story about the young black gay boy, Tyler, is so triggering for me. im just now able to watch the videos. & all i can say is WTF," read a tweet.
"I want to adopt Tyler & give him a good home & a good life. How can I find a way to take him out of that destructive environment?" wrote another.
Later, in what seemed to be a forced statement to do damage control, Tyler appeared in another IG Live stating, "My brother and dem, they didn't abuse me. They were just showing me [that I] need to stop doing that. I just wanted to get this off of my sister, like my sister didn't do nothing or my brother, they were just showing me the right thing to do. It wasn't like they was abusing me...they would never do things like that."
The outlet further reported that after the hue and cry was raised on social media platforms regarding the safety of the kid, Tyler was taken in by authorities at the Atlanta Police Department's Special Victims Unit and the commander of the LGBTQ Liaison Unit. Also, Georgia DFCS removed Tyler from his mother's custody.
