Seventeen-year-old singer knows about bullying.
Even the night before he was scheduled to bring his anti-bullying message to Red Bank Regional High School this week, he was being bombarded with insults on social media. For a few hours Wednesday night, a Twitter war broke out between fans and detractors over the singer, according to his manager, Kelly Fogel.
But that gave Beatty the resolve to come to the high school Thursday morning and share his experiences with the freshman class, who responded with female shouts of "I love you" and hands waving in the air along to his songs.
"I'm lucky to have the knowledge and the confidence to know not to care about what somebody says about my looks," Beatty said sitting on a wooden stool on the high school's stage before the crowd, He added that he found strength in doing what he loved and the support of his family.
He followed his message that promoted self-empowerment, which is part of his work with the organization Defeat the Label, by performing four songs for the class.
Beatty, who found an audience through YouTube, has used social media to his advantage while in Red Bank this week. He let fans know he would be performing at the high school (he also made stops at the Red Bank Charter School and Middle School) and invited fans to stop by and meet him at various locations.
He'll be back in Red Bank next month to perform at the Count Basie Theater on April 12. You can click here to snatch a few tickets for that performance.
Tickets are also available in person at our box office (99 Monmouth St) or by phone (732-842-9000).
Students from each school that Beatty visited this week are encouraged to submit a short essay about the important message they took away from the anti-bullying assembly for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the April 12 show.
