Stars rally around Spanish boy bullied at school

An 11-year-old boy in Spain who is seen in a viral video being bullied at school on his birthday is getting support from celebrities including French footballer Antoine Griezmann.

In the video the boy named Izan is seen curled up and crying while his classmates from a school in Mallorca insult him to the tune of “Happy Birthday”.

“Today my brother celebrated his eleventh birthday. He happily bought a cake to celebrate in class,” his older brother Marcos wrote in on Instagram post where he posted the video.

“And instead of singing ‘happy birthday’ to him, his classmates gave him the delicious surprise to sing calling him fat,” he added.

When Izan came home he broke down crying, saying “he didn’t want to live anymore,” Marcos added.

During the past four years Izan had been insulted and spat on by his classmates while teachers saw and did nothing, he added.

The post was picked up by an Instagram soft news account called Es.decirdiario which urged its over 700,000 followers to wish Izan a happy birthday in a video message.

Dozens of people answered the call, including Griezmann who plays for Atletico Madrid and invited the boy to attend one of the club’s matches.

“I wish you a happy birthday, celebrate it well with your friends and family. Enjoy, life is beautiful. A big hug, be strong and I’m waiting for you here,” he said in his message.

In a 40-minute video compilation of the messages posted by the news site, other famous faces appear including model Jon Kortajarena and actor Aron Piper, a star of Netflix teen drama “Elite”.

In a video posted Friday, Izan thanked everyone who sent a message, saying it had given him a boost and urged people “to do something” so similar situations do not repeat themselves.