Whether it's long-time heroes getting caught up in misconduct scandals or new-found causes imploding very quickly, it seems like 2017 is the year of not having nice things for long.
If you've been paying attention for the whole of this past 12 months, the Keaton Jones story won't have come as a surprise but will instead be sadly familiar.
What is still surprising, though, is how fast it all happened. The story has only been running since last week but it only took a few days to blow up and end in tears. What's going on?
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It all started when Tennessee mum Kimberly Jones posted a video to Twitter of her 11-year-old son Keaton in tears as he described his experience of being bullied at school.
The video quickly went viral, leading tons of celebrities, such as Rihanna, Cardi B, and Star Wars' Mark Hamill, to reach out to the family and offer their support. Keaton even got invited to the Avengers: Infinity War premiere by Captain America's Chris Evans and got to hang out with NFL players.
However, it didn't take long for the bubble to burst as people found that the Jones family wasn't as spotless as they had been led to believe, even suspecting them of racism.
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People quickly found pictures of the family posing with the Confederate flag, while Kimberly was accused of making controversial statements via Facebook within weeks of the Charlottesville rally in August in which one counter-protester was killed by a white supremacist.
A Go Fund Me page apparently set up by the family also attracted donations of $58,000 ((£43,000) before it was shut down, leading people to accuse the family of capitalizing on Keaton's fame.
The family has denied wrongdoing, stridently saying that they are not racist and the Go Fund Me was set up by someone else, Still, it's all a bit shit, isn't it?
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The Keaton Jones story is one of a long line of revelations this year in which people we admired very quickly lost their lustre, such as Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey being accused of sexual assault in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal in October.
You could even apply it to Chris Parker, the homeless man who was initially praised for rushing in to help victims after a terrorist bombed the Manchester Arena back in May.
He also had a GoFundMe set up in his name to help get him off the streets. He is now due to stand trial on 2 January accused of stealing a purse from one of the victims of the bombing, and a mobile phone from a teenage girl.
The year of 2017 has seen stars rise and fall more quickly than ever. What's 2018 going to bring?
Topics: Interesting, Community
