[Feyerick:] When Whitney Kropp was nominated for Homecoming Court by her classmates, she was thrilled. But her excitement soon turned to embarrassment and pain when she realized she was the victim of a cruel prank. Now this Michigan teen is turning the tables on her bullies. CNN's Chris Welch has her story.
[Chris Welch, Cnn Correspondent:] A superstar practically overnight. The 16-year-old Whitney Kropp is a role model to anyone who's ever been bullied. But this sophomore's journey so stardom was no fairytale, when her peers picked her for the homecoming court as a joke, she had thoughts of suicide.
[Whitney Kropp, On Homecoming Court:] I'm like wow, I feel like trash. I feel like I'm a little thing that no one really cares about.
[Welch:] At her sister's urging, she decided to keep her title on the court. [on camera]: If I were in your position, that would be really hard to do.
[Kropp:] It's really hard to do right now, because at first, I had thought about dropping out of the Homecoming Court. I'm not this joke that everyone thinks I am. I'll just prove all these kids wrong.
[Welch:] That's exactly what she did, and since then, she'll been swamped with support, from the local hair salon that gave her a new do
[Unidentified Female:] To find out that it was all just a joke, it really touched me.
[Welch:] To the Facebook page with over 100,000 fans.
[Bernice Kropp, Whitney's Mom:] It's so cool to see, you know, e-mails that she's, you know, we're getting or she's getting from parents and other students from all over the place telling their stories and how it helped them and it touched them. You know, my daughter is out there as an inspiration to a lot of people and it's a really cool thing. See? You're like Cinderella. Mistreated, unappreciated, abused, but after much support, you're going to have a great time at the ball.
[Kropp:] You know, I thought before you know, no one cares about me. I thought not even my own brother and sister care. But they're proving to me they do care. The world is proving that they care about the situation.
[Welch:] Folks from all over the state are here tonight. In fact, this group of girls traveled more than an hour away. You left your home football game to come here and support Whitney. Why?
[Donna Georgieff, Supports Whitney Kropp:] We just wanted to show Whitney that our entire student body is completely 100 percent behind her.
[Welch:] From being bullied to the bully pulpit, she's using her newfound fame to send a message.
[Kropp:] The kids that are bullying you, do not let them bring you down. Stand up for what you believe in. Go with your heart and go with your gut. That's what I did and look at me now. I'm just as happy as can be.
[Welch:] Whitney says she'll likely face bullies again if her future, but she says when that happens, she'll be able to confront them with her head held high and with a new confidence. Reporting from West Branch, Michigan, Chris Welch, CNN.
[Feyerick:] Good for Whitney. Well, an ancient piece of papyrus alluding to Jesus having a wife is a fake. At least that's what the Vatican is saying. Scram on the parchment are the words, "Jesus said to them my wife," but the Vatican newspaper has cast doubt over its authenticity. The editor is calling it a clumsy forgery. Hollywood stars are coming face to face with women who are turning oppression into opportunity. The acclaimed book "Half The Sky" by "New York Times" columnist, Nicolas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn has inspired a new documentary. In a special report for CNN, Kristof sat down with the stars, including Gabrielle Union, who tells us how a 15-year-old girl in Vietnam inspired her.
[Gabrielle Union, Actress/activist:] We met her at 15. Her mother had left. Her father because her father was abusive, his abuse was so epic, he was famous in their community. The father is a clock and watch repairman. Everything is digital, so the business is not brisk. And instead of changing occupations or picking up another job, he came up with the bright idea for me to sell lottery tickets. And she figured out a way to squirrel away money to get tutoring, to get food for her and her brother, to get uniforms, books, supplies, and some days when she just wasn't going to be able to sell all of her lottery tickets and she was going to home and be beaten. Sir, do you know why she's crying? Could you tell us why she's upset? I could see in Ni's face that there was a lot more to her story than even what she was willing to let on, and I became a little attached, maybe too attached, some would say.
[Nicholas Kristof, Author, "half The Sky":] Ni's story in a sense reflects a real argument about why we should care about somebody in Vietnam, that tiny amounts of money, that an amount we spend on coffee could be transformative in a life of somebody like Ni and you know, as well as the idea that our compassion shouldn't depend on the color of somebody's passport.
[Union:] Exactly, exactly. I think that's the point we all try to make. It's a little bit of humanity. You must be so proud of her because she's such a great student and such a good salesperson, a sense of pride.
[Unidentified Female:] Not yet, still more, still many things for her to do.
[Union:] When you absolutely refuse to see someone else's pain because you're OK, it does make you a jerk.
[Kristof:] You've worked a lot with violence issues, gender violence issues right here in the U.S. I'm curious, when you were working halfway around the world in Vietnam with these girls, did it feel kind of the same?
[Union:] If kids in America could see what Ni went through and how she got through it, they can apply those same lessons to their own lives. Helping and giving a damn makes the world go round. We can all learn from each other. You are so beautiful and so smart. I know you will be very successful. We all, you know, have such hope for the world and I'm maybe a little selfish. I want to see that inspiration have an effect in my neighborhood and with my family. And I think what we created absolutely can have that effect if people give it a chance. I'm very, very, very proud of you.
[Feyerick:] "Half The Sky" turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. That airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday. So much talk these days about the red line. Well, this week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear where he thinks it should be drawn. We'll have much more on how to deal with Iran's nuclear program.