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Viral coming out video man receives $90,000 in donations

By Sam Rigby

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The man who was kicked out of his family home in a viral coming out video has received over $90,000 (£54,615) in donations from the public.

Daniel Pierce, a 20-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, was rejected by his family when he came out earlier this week, a traumatic experience which he captured on camera – watch the upsetting video here.

After posting the video online, he launched his own GoFundMe campaign to raise $2,000 (£1,213) to cover his living expenses.

However, 3,563 people donated over a six-day period bringing his total to $93,765 (£56,933).

Pierce has now asked for people to stop making donations to him, and to instead give money to Atlanta-based organisation Lost-n-Found Youth, who he has worked with closely.

He wrote: “Thank you to everyone from around America and all over the world for your support in the past several days. This has been a rough time for me and I never imagined that so many people would show such overwhelming compassion and generosity.

“For now, I ask for your understanding that I really need some quiet time to take it all in and plan my future. Thank you so much for your love and support. It means the world to me.”

Pierce’s original video has now been viewed more than 5.6 million times.

In the video, an unidentified family member tells him: “I believe in the word of God, and God creates nobody that way. It’s a path that you have chosen to choose. You go by all the scientific stuff you want to. I’m going by the word of God.”

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