Heather Wyatt, a grieving mother who turned to social media after her daughter’s tragic suicide, is now facing a lawsuit from the parents of four teenage girls.
The suing parents claimed that Heather’s allegations of cyber-bullying against their daughters have led to widespread harassment and threats against them.
Trigger warning: Sensitive content
Following the death of 13-year-old Aubreigh Wyatt in September 2023, Heather has taken to TikTok to share her sorrow and raise awareness about bullying. She amassed hundreds of thousands of followers by sharing allegations of her teenage daughter being bullied by her schoolmates at Ocean Springs Middle School in southeastern Mississippi.
Heather Wyatt lost her daughter, Aubreigh Wyatt, after the teenager tragically ended her own life
Image credits: heatherwyatt71
Image credits: Lisa Teufel
Over the last few months, the bereaved mother’s posts have gone viral, leading to Aubreigh’s tragic story exploding into an online spectacle with millions watching.
In her videos, Heather never directly mentioned the names of the girls she accused of bullying her daughter. But despite this, their identities quickly surfaced in comments and posts by the mother’s followers.
She posted a video in February about the Ocean Springs Police Department and Jackson County Youth Court deciding to no longer pursue bullying cases over the straight-A student’s suicide.
The former elementary school teacher claimed she had evidence of Aubreigh being bullied by one boy and four girls.
“Aubreigh would be friends with them for a week, then they would fight for a week,” she said in one video, as quoted by Sun Herald.
“It was just this big social isolation… Aubreigh was way too forgiving,” she added.
The grieving mother went viral for sharing details of her daughter allegedly being bullied by four other Ocean Springs Middle School students
Image credits: Jordan Brianne
The mother also said her daughter had been bullied since the fifth grade and that she was allegedly slapped by one of the bullies when she was in the seventh grade. She showed her TikTok followers an image of the teenage victim with a red cheek after the alleged slap in school.
In the screenshot of a Snapchat conversation, one text message appeared to be from someone apologizing to Aubreigh.
“I really didn’t mean to hurt you, i’m sorry,” read the message, and Aubreigh also apologized for getting the girl in trouble in the same conversation.
However, the parents of the girl who sent the message have since denied that their daughter slapped the teen who took her own life.
The single mother is survived by 6-year-old Ryker and 16-year-old Taylor, who shared her own experience of the recent incidents
After Heather’s claims went viral on social media, the personal information of the four alleged bullies surfaced online, and one of the girls' addresses was also shared.
This led to a barrage of threats and harassment against the four girls, according to the recent lawsuit filed by attorneys Patrick Guild and Tim Holleman on behalf of the school students' parents.
The families are looking to sue Heather for defamation and slander, as per the lawsuit filed on July 2 in the county’s circuit court.
Aubreigh had been bullied since the fifth grade and was allegedly slapped by one of her bullies in the seventh grade, according to her mother
Image credits: aubreigh_wyatt
Image credits: Lisa Teufel
"As a direct and proximate cause of the false, defamatory, and slanderous social media posts of the defendant, Heather Wyatt, the plaintiffs' minor children have been receiving insulting and revolting messages from around the world attacking them, calling them vulgar names, sexualizing them," the complaint said. "These young ladies WERE IN THE 8TH GRADE!!"
The complaint also noted that the bullying allegations raised by Heather are “unsubstantiated.”
The girls’ parents have cited emotional distress caused due to the barrage of threats, and they are asking for compensation for therapy and medical bills.
Although the former elementary school teacher did not directly name the four girls who allegedly bullied her daughter, the students' identities soon surfaced on social media, with one of their addresses also being publicly shared
Meanwhile, Heather was served a legal notice on July 1 to stop posting further messages that could endanger the lives of the four girls.
In the order, which is completely unrelated to the families’ lawsuit, a judge in Jackson County Chancery Court demanded Heather shut down her TikTok, Facebook, and other social media accounts “to protect the minor children in this case.”
Social media has been rampant with screenshots of text messages, apparently shared by Aubreigh, about the alleged bullying
Image credits: Tyree Austin
Image credits: Tyree Austin
Patrick, the attorney for the suing families, said he could not comment on the judge’s order. However, he said he was disappointed when the order was leaked on social media.
“What has happened as a result of that is that a lot of different theories, and I’ll say, false information has come out,” he told The Washington Post.
He called the accusations of bullying by his clients “patently false” and said they have been “elevated to such a grand scale based on Heather Wyatt’s number of followers.”
“As a result, my clients have been receiving threats that in my opinion can be construed as real concerns for their safety,” he added.
Heather has since shifted the focus of her social media posts to talk about mental health awareness.
Heather was served a legal notice to stop posting further messages that could endanger the lives of the four girls, and the judge's order was later leaked online
Image credits: mirandagcasto
Heather has set up a GoFundMe page to offset her legal fees and has since seen a flood of donations to support her.
She has so far raised $101,770, surpassing the initial goal of $100,000.
“Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude for the incredible generosity you've shown through your donations. We are overwhelmed with appreciation and are forever grateful for your love and support,” the mourning mother said in an update posted on the fundraising page on Thursday, July 11.
Heather set up a GoFundMe page for funds to offset her legal expenses, and she has managed to raise $101,770 so far
Image credits: Heather Wyatt GoFundMe
Image credits: Tyree Austin
“We have reached and surpassed our goal! So many of you still want to help! And I'm honored!” she added. “With that being said, I'm not going to increase this fundraiser. If you still want to help please send Venmo and/or cashapp. You can also support by purchasing a ‘LivelikeAubreigh’ shirt through the dash link below.”
If you or someone you know needs help, visit 988lifeline.org, call or text the U.S. Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact a local helpline.
A sizeable portion of netizens have sided with Heather Wyatt in the story, which has exploded online
