Luke Bryan Brings Bullied 9-Year-Old With Tourette’s On Stage For Duet Of A Lifetime
on Sep 30, 2015 • Updated Apr 09, 2019
Music is medicine. That phrase is so true for nine-year-old Connor Offill, who was bullied at school for having Tourette’s syndrome. He was picked on by his peers for not being able to control his tics and his need to wear leg braces so he doesn’t walk on his toes.
Listening to country music, especially Brett Eldredge, Brad Paisley, and Luke Bryan, brings Connor comfort and makes him feel better after being picked on at school. Connor’s mom, Gloria Bechtel, told a local news station that when “he has bad days or gets his feelings hurt from other kids, he comes home and blasts country music… It makes him feel better.”
On his 2015 Kick The Dust Up tour, Luke stopped in Connor’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio In August, and spotted Connor in the crowd holding up a sign that read, “My dream is to meet and sing with my hero Luke.”
Stopping dead in his tracks, Luke took the poster from Connor and brought him on stage to sing “Someone Else Calling You Baby”!
Luke had no clue Connor was being bullied, but he definitely brightened his day, as did Brett Eldredge, who brought Connor on stage during a concert in June.
@bretteldredge I want you to know how much this means to my son thank you so so much… pic.twitter.com/ZbN6crwhRJ
— Gloria Bechtel (@gbechtel101) June 30, 2015
Brad Paisley also stopped in Cincinnati, and spotted Connor in the audience, and he also brought Connor on stage!
@BradPaisley I love this video 🙂 pic.twitter.com/3DBSNW8jkb
— Gloria Bechtel (@gbechtel101) September 3, 2015
After these unexpected performances, Bechtel said Connor, “Became a little more talkative and a little less shy and self-conscious around others.”
We are so happy these three artists are apart of Connor’s journey to managing his Tourette’s and that they could put a smile on his face!
https://instagram.com/p/7N0sMvyWyB
Watch the amazing moment below.
