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Bullied for his haircut, 9-year-old Nova Scotia boy finds 2 million supporters online

Isaiah Myers gets help from Facebook over his haircut. (Image courtesy Facebook)

Isaiah Myers' summer haircut got him bullied at his Nova Scotia school.

A few weekends ago, Isaiah's father gave the Grade 3 student his annual buzz cut. When Isaiah returned from Cape Sable Island Elementary School a few days later and immediately put on a hoodie — it was a hot day — his mother, Becky, knew something was wrong.

"I said, 'What’s the matter?'" Becky Myers told the Chronicle Herald. "He said, 'I don't want anybody to see my hair.' He said, 'Everybody was laughing at me and making fun of my hair today and telling me it looks stupid.'"

Becky posted a photo of her 9-year-old son on Facebook to try to counter the bullies with "likes."

"Isaiah was tormented at school today because he got his head shaved =) i told him I would put a picture on Facebook and see how many likes I could get! I think he looks handsome!! Let's cheer my boy up =)," Becky wrote on June 5th.

By June 13th, more than 2,250,000 people had "liked" the photo of Isaiah. Almost 35,000 people had shared the image.

"I had my friends liking it and they were sharing it so their friends would see it. … The picture's been all over the world," Becky told the Chronicle Herald. "I've gotten messages from New Zealand, from England, everywhere."

Hundreds gave words of encouragement to the young boy, calling him "handsome" and pointing out the joys of a low-maintenance haircut:

"Isaiah, wipe your eyes, stand up straight, and stick your chest out and know this little buddy, women love bald guys and when they ask you if they can rub your head, you say yes," Todd Goode wrote.

"Some of the best looking men that ever live/lived were bald, Yul Brenner, Bruce Willis come to mind. Plus my son & grandson wear their hair like this. We call it 'wash & wear.' Hang in there, buddy, I think you look 'cool,'" wrote Mary Bailes.

Becky's strategy worked: the support cheered up her son.

"Thanks everyone, he has heard most of these comments and went to bed proud, and will not let anyone bug him tomorrow the response to this is overwhelming! As a mom it hurt to see my always happy 9 year old so upset, you all helped him regain his confidence!!" she wrote on Facebook.

"Hi, My name’s Isaiah and I was bullied for cutting my hair. Thank you for all the likes. At first, I didn’t think my hair looked cool but now I know it does," Isaiah said in a video posted to Facebook.

Isaiah's school's principal has reassured the Myers family that the bullying will be dealt with.