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Patton Oswalt Responds To Online Bully By Paying His Medical Bills

Gage Skidmore - Flickr / Michael Beatty - GoFundMe

If you think you get into a lot of arguments on Facebook, imagine being a celebrity with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers.

Big stars can face plenty of unwanted abuse, and some come up with creative ways to fire back at their online "trolls."

But King of Queens star Patton Oswalt gave us all a lesson in kindness when he responded to social media insults with an act of generosity.

The dispute began on Thursday, when Oswalt tweeted a cheeky poem about President Donald Trump. Fair warning: there are a few vulgar jokes in this story.

Patton Oswalt poked fun at the president, and riled up some of his supporters.Patton Oswalt - Twitter

Twitter user @MichaelBeatty, obviously not a fan of Oswalt's humor, responded with a mean spirited joke about one of the comedian's film roles.

"I just realized why I was so happy you died in Blade Trinity!" he wrote.

At first, Oswalt played along with the Twitter fight, and responded to @MichaelBeatty with playful humor.

"Dude, I already know: 'cuz "...one more second of you on screen and my heart would belong to Patton Oswalt." I get told this at least twice a week by Trump supporters. It always makes me smile and I'm grateful and blessed," he joked.

But Beatty had another insult prepared: "And you shoot basketball ike [sic] the sawed off little man you are."

Oswalt was ready to return fire with another insult, when he decided to take a better look at his critic's Twitter profile.

"Aw, man," Oswalt wrote to his fans.

"This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he's in a LOT of trouble health-wise. I'd be pissed off too. He's been dealt some shitty cards "” let's deal him some good ones. Click and donate "” just like I'm about to."

The GoFundMe page shared by Oswalt revealed that Beatty was crowdfunding $5,000 for medical expenses, but had raised just $500 so far.

Beatty is still recovering from a serious hospital visit and a case of blood poisoning.Michael Beatty - GoFundMe

On the page, Beatty writes that he is a Vietnam War veteran who spent two weeks in hospital while suffering from sepsis and diabetic ketoacidosis. He added that he was recovering slowly, and still living with complications of his diabetes.

The comedian put Beatty closer to his goal with a $2,000 donation, and soon Oswalt's fans joined in as well.

By Friday, the fundraiser had collected more than $31,000, enough to cover Beatty's medical bills and help out his cousin, who Beatty revealed is also in dire straits after his granddaughter was in a car accident.

Beatty apologized for his jokes after being moved to tears by Oswalt's donation.GoFundMe

The turnaround from ugly insults to kind-hearted giving inspired Beatty to write an emotional apology.

"Patton. You have humbled me to the point where I can barely compose my words. You have caused me to take pause and reflect on how harmful words from my mouth could result in such an outpouring," he wrote on Twitter.

The grateful man added that the exchange made him an Oswalt fan, and asked to know when the stand up comic would be performing in his area.

Of course, after encouraging his fans to do a good deed, Oswalt couldn't resist flipping the script again with a vulgar send-off for Beatty.

Oswalt was only teasing - he didn't take back his donation.Patton Oswalt - Twitter

"See, THIS is why compassion and forgiveness are the best "” wait, you CRIED?!? You ---- ----! Donation CANCELLED," he joked about Beatty's grateful tears.

You can donate to Beatty's fundraiser here.

[H/T: Entertainment Weekly]

We can all learn something from Oswalt's heartwarming gesture. Get well soon Beatty!

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