Keaton Jones was inundated with support from celebrities after a video of him tearfully talking about being bullied at school went viral.
But the feel good story was tainted overnight when disturbing Facebook posts from Keaton's mum, Kimberly, came to light.
On her now deleted Facebook page, Kimberly Jones was seen in pictures smiling while holding a Confederate flag which is considered by many to be a representation of white supremacy.
She also posted a bizarre message on Facebook in August just two weeks after a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd in Virginia.
"Dear butt hurt Americans, If you aren't bleeding, no bones are sticking out & you can breathe, STOP crying! For the love, some folks clearly never picked a switch. And before y'all start talking to me about metaphorical, emotional, financial or historical blood & brokenness, Don't. Join a group."
It's not known exactly what she was referring to.
Overnight an Instagram account, allegedly belonging to Keaton, posted an apology for his mum's controversial posts, however the Instagram account has now been deleted.
The post said: "This is Keaton. I want to apologise on behalf of my mum for the things she has said towards other races. I love my mother but I also realise wrong is wrong. And what she said was wrong. I hope we can all put her mistakes in the past and focus on bettering the world. Thank you."
The photo of the apology was captioned with the message, "I hope you all can forgive her, she is a good person. We all make mistakes".
The emotional video of Keaton talking about being bullied was posted on Facebook by his mum on Friday.
"Just out of curiosity, why do they bully?" the boy asks in the video.
"What's the point of it? Why do you find joy in taking innocent people and finding a way to be mean to them. It's not okay."
His mum asked: "What did they say to you?" and the tearful boy replied, "They make fun of my nose. They call me ugly. They say I have no friends".
The video, which was posted on the now deleted Facebook page, had been viewed more than 22 million times and prompted an outpouring of support from some of the world's biggest stars.
Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Mark Hamill, Dr Phil and even Donald Trump Jr have reached out to Keaton on social media.
Captain America star Chris Evans even invited Keaton and his mum to the Avengers premiere in Los Angeles next year.