This Boy Was Ridiculed as a Baby for Looking Like a Grandpa. Now He’s Redefining Beauty (2 of 3)

Thousands of people reshared the photo, slapping on cruel jokes like “born retired,” “grumpy old man,” and “Benjamin Button’s cousin.” The image even made it to late-night talk shows. No one knew his name, but everyone knew that face.

Danielle was devastated.

“It felt like they were mocking my son before he even had a chance to open his eyes to the world,” she said later in an interview. “He hadn’t done anything. He just… looked different.”

Doctors diagnosed Ben with cutis laxa, a rare condition that affects skin elasticity. His features were droopy but harmless, and with time, most of the visible effects would fade.

But what no one expected was how Ben handled it all.

As he grew, so did the attention. Strangers stopped Danielle in grocery stores. “Is that the baby from the internet?” they’d whisper, not realizing that the “joke” had a real name, a real family, and a real story.

By age five, Ben knew the internet had made fun of him. “I looked like a tiny grandpa,” he’d say with a shrug and a smile that could melt the frostiest heart. “But it’s okay. I’m catching up now.”

And he did catch up.

Fast.

By the time Ben turned 10, the “grandpa” was gone. His skin had tightened, his features balanced out. But the most remarkable change wasn’t physical—it was emotional.

Ben became a fierce anti-bullying advocate at his school. When another boy was picked on for a stutter, Ben stood beside him and said, “They laughed at my face. I still smile anyway. So should you.”