When Daniel Pierce filmed his family’s violent reaction to him coming out as gay, he did not expect $100,000 donations from strangers.
Pierce, 19, recorded the incident which involved his father, stepmother, grandparents and aunt. The family, who is religious, held a prayer session and questioned the teen about his sexuality, reported 9 News.
“You can deny it all you want to but I believe in the word of God, and God creates nobody that way. It's a path that you have chosen to choose,” one family member says.
Another family member said although they knew Pierce was gay from he was a “little boy”, they still claimed it was his choice and that he was not born that way. The scene became violent when Pierce was attacked and called “a damn queer.” He was thrown out of his family’s home, and posted the video to Youtube, where it garnered more than 4 million views.
Pierce’s boyfriend set up a page for donations. In just two days, more than $100,000 were raised to support Pierce.
According to BBC News, the hashtag “#DanielPierce” was trending across the internet. The teen was taken in by another aunt, who supported him. Pierce posted a thank you to everyone who donated, saying that he felt blessed.
“I will be using a portion of this money to help others in the same situation!”