FRANKLIN, MASS. (WHDH) - After a 5-year-old was reportedly bullied in a classroom, a Franklin dad took to Twitter to stand up for his son — and social media and the town of Franklin are rallying behind them.
Aaron Gouveia’s son, Sam, told his parents he had been bullied at school about his painted nails earlier this week. Aaron took his frustrations to his Twitter account, @DaddyFiles, and in response he saw an outpouring of support from community members and others around the world — including former Patriots player Martellus Bennett.
In a series of posts, Aaron says his son is a ‘boy’s boy’ who loves trucks, plays sports, but also loves a lot of ‘girl’ things and likes to paint his nails red. When he got teased, he came home in tears.
“I know these kids are only in kindergarten by this toxic masculinity (expletive) is LEARNED,” Aaron wrote on Twitter.
But after talking to his son, Aaron decided to paint his nails to support his son. So did Sam’s older brother.
But after telling his story, Aaron — and Sam — heard from hundreds of people who heard the story and wanted to show their support. A Franklin resident started a campaign to invite members of the community — young or old, boy or girl, man or woman — to paint their nails on Friday.
A salon company that makes nail polish offered to send Sam some new nail polish to wear, and Bennett responded by saying he wears painted nails proudly “all the time.”
Aaron added that the school and Sam’s teachers have been “nothing short of amazing” and that he doesn’t blame them for the bullying incident.
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