Bullied Boy Gets Trip Of Lifetime Thanks To 'Seal Team' Actor AJ Buckley, Former MMA Star Justin Wren
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — When 12-year-old Rayden Overbay from Oklahoma was attacked by three students after school, his parents went public after a video of the incident went viral.
"Some of those kids claim to be my son's friend," Danny Overbay, Rayden's father, said. "And that's hard."
Rayden's parents said he has autism and is deaf in one ear. They also said Rayden was often bullied.
Rayden's experience struck a cord with former MMA star Justin Wren — who runs an anti-bullying program called Fight for the Forgotten — and Seal Team actor AJ Buckley, who both said they were bullied as kids. The duo worked together to bring Rayden and his family to Los Angeles for a Hollywood visit fit for a VIP.
"We have a lot of really fun things planned," Buckley said in a video. "I don't want to tell you everything, because I want to have some surprises for you."
Buckley arranged for Rayden to meet the cast of Seal Team and experience life on the set — including meeting Dita, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois who plays an explosives detection dog.
But it was the video Buckley assembled with messages from his celebrity friends that made it clear there are plenty of people who stand with Rayden.
"Machete's got your back," actor Danny Trejo said.
"You should be really proud of yourself today," actor Kevin McKidd said. "Everyone who knows and loves you feels the same."
"You, Rayden, are a special kid," actor Michael Rapaport, who stars in the Netflix series Atypical about a teenager with autism, said.
The full celebrity videos were posted to YouTube.