--- title: Russell Crowe and Other Celebrities Tweet Bullied Boy Ollie description: Celebrities around the world have sent happy birthday messages and presents to a bullied boy after his father's Twitter appeal goes viral canonical: https://time.com/4840900/twitter-ollie-happy-birthday-bully-russell-crowe/ author: Rachel Lewis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-30T09:48:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:45:02.910Z og:title: Man Asks Famous People to Wish Bullied Son Happy Birthday og:description: And the Internet delivers og:url: https://time.com/4840900/twitter-ollie-happy-birthday-bully-russell-crowe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98deabbb8f8a9589/6988d41c656a3ff37cbd0a83/gettyimages-102071017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5700 og:image:height: 3206 og:image:alt: Birthday party preparation og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Man Asks Famous People to Wish Bullied Son Happy Birthday twitter:description: And the Internet delivers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98deabbb8f8a9589/6988d41c656a3ff37cbd0a83/gettyimages-102071017.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Man Asked for Famous People to Wish His Bullied Son a Happy Birthday. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Rachel Lewis](https://time.com/author/rachel-lewis/) ## Rachel Lewis Jun 30, 2017 9:48 AM UTC  Birthday party preparation Birthday party preparation Image Source—Getty Images by [Rachel Lewis](https://time.com/author/rachel-lewis/) ## Rachel Lewis Jun 30, 2017 9:48 AM UTC When Twitter user [@Hopenlesmyth ](https://twitter.com/Hopenlesmyth)asked his followers if they knew anybody famous to wish his bullied son a Happy Birthday, he couldn’t have expected to see messages from Hollywood stars, Olympic athletes, and music legends in response. Christopher tweeted on Thursday morning to say that his 8-year-old son, Ollie, had been bullied about his birthday. “The bully keeps saying that everything O has, he has bigger/better/more often. O excited for his birthday but keeps being told it won’t be as good as it’s own \[sic\]. Just would love someone to tell him he does mean something and bullying is not.” > [](https://twitter.com/Hopenlesmyth/status/880316858137796608) The message quickly went viral, with replies soon rolling in from some very well-known people — including _Gladiator_ star Russell Crowe, anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky, and soul legend Dionne Warwick. > [](https://twitter.com/russellcrowe/status/880538452239843328) > [](https://twitter.com/MonicaLewinsky/status/880564280449544192) > [](https://twitter.com/%5FDionneWarwick/status/880622254828036096) Youtube stars Zoella and Alfie Deyes, _The Simpsons_ artist Eric Keyes, rapper Stormzy, soccer teams Manchester City and Arsenal FC and British gold medal Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy were also among those to speak out against the bullying, and make Ollie’s birthday extra special. Ollie was also offered a Team GB Olympic kit, the chance to meet Olympic athletes, signed copies of children’s books and a trip to watch England play soccer. Christopher, who said he would show Ollie the messages on his birthday on July 5, later posted to thank everybody for the response. “Guys this has gone crazy and I appreciate all the wonderful messages.” TIME reached out to Christopher, who hasn’t revealed his last name, for further comment but received no reply. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4840900/twitter-ollie-happy-birthday-bully-russell-crowe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4840900/twitter-ollie-happy-birthday-bully-russell-crowe/"},"headline":"This Man Asked for Famous People to Wish His Bullied Son a Happy Birthday. 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