Stormzy and other celebrities tweet bullied school boy
- Published
Celebrities mark bullied boy's birthday
A host of celebrities, including British grime and hip hop artist Stormzy, have sent birthday greetings to a young boy who is being bullied.
Chris Hope-Smith, from Leeds, posted on Twitter, external asking if people could send positive messages to his son, Ollie.
He wrote: "The bully keeps saying to him that everything O has, he has bigger/better/more often.
"I would love someone to tell him he does mean something and bullying is not ok, ever."
Ollie will celebrate his ninth birthday on 5 July.
More on this story and others from Yorkshire
Responding to the appeal, Stormzy wrote: "Happy birthday Ollie! You're a lil legend. ❤️⭐️🎉Don't watch the bullies they always end up being the biggest wastemen later in life."
Stormzy was one of the celebrities to respond to the appeal
Others included TV presenter Jake Humphrey, who recorded a video, external where he told Ollie to "ignore the haters", adding "we've all been there".
Simpsons character designer Eric Keyes, external sent a message to Ollie along with a personalised drawing of Bart Simpson.
Mr Keyes tweeted: "Happy Birthday Ollie from a guy on @TheSimpsons who's not quite famous but draws a kid who is =) I hope you have an AWESOME day!"
Other famous names who sent well-wishes to the schoolboy included:
Film star Russell Crowe, external
The England football team, external
Comedian Jason Manford, external
Astronaut Tim Peake, external
US actor Wil Wheaton, external
BBC Newsround presenter Ricky Boleto, external
Actress and comedian Dawn French, external
Strictly Come Dancing champ Ore Oduba, external
Former Olympic athlete Dame Jess Ennis-Hill, external
Bassist from The Specials Horace Panter, external
Many people offered to send Ollie gifts or free tickets for events.
Broadcaster Sara Cox, external also posted a video message to him.
Sara Cox posted a video message to Ollie
Writing on her husband's twitter account, Ollie's mother Natalie Hope-Smith said: "I am completely overwhelmed by everyone's kind thoughts.
"You do not know what this means to me and will to Ollie when we show him. I have been battling with this matter for over a year and am only just now being listened to.
"It is heartbreaking listening to an 8 year old think that he is worthless and 'shouldn't be here'.
"I know that we are definitely not the only ones going through this but I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, 'Thank You' so much. You really don't know what this means. Natalie xx"
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As well as celebrities, the appeal also attracted a lot of interest from the general public, who all offered messages of support.
Responding to the posts, Mr Hope-Smith said: "I am completely overwhelmed by everyone's kind thoughts.
"You do not know what this means to me and will to Ollie when we show him."
