Jonah Mowry wrote an open letter to Perez Hilton defending himself against critics who call him a fraud and claim that his emotional video about bullying is fake.

He addresses the letter to his friends and supporters.

I made this video 4 months ago just before school was about to start. I was 13. It was a very emotionally dark time in my life. I made the video at 4:00am in the morning; I hadn't been sleeping at night for a long time, too many things going on in my head. I was dreading going back to school and I had not come out to my family yet, he wrote.

He describes how each year he faced bullying at school, it became harder and harder. I just couldn't bare to go through that anymore. I was done being fake happy, pretending hateful words didn't hurt, done hiding it from my family.

So this video was made for my friends that had moved on to High School who were worried for me, to say to them that I was going to take a stand, and to the haters at my middle school that I'm not going anywhere. I am who I am, wrote Mowry.

The video was intended for the people close to him. He gave them information on where to find it and left it at that. His friends saw it and were proud of him. They encouraged him to upload it to Facebook. So, he posted it to his profile on Dec. 1 and his parents saw it for the very first time the next day.

Then the media got hold of it and Mowry's story got the attention of the likes of Perez Hilton, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. I never expected in a million years that it would have such a wonderful impact on so many people. I am truly humbled and truly thankful for all the love, encouragement and support from people all over the world. It's been incredibly overwhelming. I don't know what to say, he wrote.

Much of the criticism came after a video titled (HAI DAR) Was Jonah Mowry lying? You decide was uploaded to YouTube by a separate user. This video currently has over one million hits and tens of thousands of comments, many of which include derogatory language and hateful slurs.

One user posted: I saw the other video first and thought poor life, poor guy but now? I'm very angry I feel he cheated me. Another wrote: everyone believed you and felt sorry for you. you [sic] even cried in your video. you [sic] are the biggest coward in the? world, some people are actually in the situation you pretended to be in out there.

Commentators have even voiced their anger on IBTimes. One reader wrote: That has been bothering me since I first seen it. I knew I had seen the same style video somepace [sic] before, i [sic] just can't seem to find it now. I am loving how people are completely ignoring his other youtube [sic] channel randomtv201 where he is seen prior to the bully video making fun of overweight people and also the learning disabled. Those videos trouble me far more than the 2nd gum chewing one everyone is focusing on.

In his open letter to Hilton, Mowry addresses the criticism over this video and others, ones where he is recorded joking around with friends.

Yes you have seen me happy in a couple short videos replies I posted; I would think that would be a good thing, and yes I do have friends, my High School friends, and I have made friends because when I came out they realized that they had hurt me and that they fealt [sic] sorry. The video is real, and true, he added.

In defending Mowry against the allegations of fraud, Perez Hilton posted on his blog a piece entitledReal or Fake? The TRUTH About Jonah Mowry's Video!

Hilton provides a link to the boy's old Formspring account, a social network that is currently popular with adolescents. On the site, Mowry posted an answer to a seemingly general question.

Question What is your main goal for this school year?

Answer Make it through alive. (im serious)

The post was written back in August. Hilton provides it as proof that Mowry was truly struggling and that the suicidal thoughts he discussed in his YouTube video were genuine.

Mowry makes sure to clarify to those who may dub him a fraud that five months have passed since he recorded the first emotional video. His mental state and personal well-being have shifted.

In the last few months everything eventually came out in the open, I felt a huge weight off my shoulders; I'm happy, I'm excepted [sic] for who I am, I'm more confident and feel stronger every day, he wrote. Thank you all, Love and peace to all who are hurting.

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