In a viral video that has proven very popular, a five year old girl with dwarfism dances to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” The girl, Rilee, has Achondroplasia, one of the most common forms of dwarfism, being the cause of the syndrome in approximately 80% of cases. Men with Achondroplasia usually only stand 52 inches, while women average 48 inches.
The video was published on YouTube on October 17, 2014, during Dwarfism Awareness Month, and currently has over three and a half million views. The video was posted by Rilee’s mom, Angela, who feels blessed by all the support she and her family have received, with her YouTube account receiving thousands of views each day. Rilee’s family even set up an account on Facebook for Rilee’s many fans and well wishers.
The video has also met with positive reactions from people with dwarfism, who feel encouraged to ignore bullying and insults through Riley’s message of simply ignoring it and shaking it off.
Like most little girls, Rilee enjoys singing and dancing, with Taylor Swift being her favorite performer. On her YouTube account, Rilee can be seen singing and dancing to other popular songs, including “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from the Disney film Frozen and “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” by Selena Gomez.
Rilee’s family hasn’t spoken much about the video’s popularity, but have said that in making the video, they wanted to show that Rilee is no different than any other little girl. Just as Taylor Swift says in the song, they hope the public will shake off their preconceived notions of people with dwarfism.