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Jason Russell, KONY 2012 Filmmaker, Addresses Naked Meltdown and Gay Rumors With Oprah Winfrey
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Seven months after he became a household name, Jason Russell is hoping to be a viral sensation once again – preferably with his clothes on this time.
After shooting to fame with the release of his film “Kony 2012” in March, which racked up 100 million YouTube views in less than a week, Russell eclipsed his own project just 10 days later when a video of his naked meltdown on a San Diego street corner exploded online. (Click here to see that video)
Now the controversial filmmaker is back with a new movie about the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, and he wants to set the record straight about his former flameout.
“It’s hard to explain if people have never had an out of body experience, but it really wasn’t me,” he told Oprah of his meltdown, in an interview for “Oprah’s Next Chapter” that aired on Sunday. “That wasn’t me, that person on the street corner ranting and raving and naked, is not me. That’s not who I am.”
Russell says the wild success of the video led him to feel intense pressure that caused him to break down.
“My mind couldn’t stop thinking about the future. I literally thought I was responsible for the future of humanity,” he told the “Today” show on Monday. “It started to go into a point where my mind finally turned against me and there was a moment where, click, I was not in control of my mind or my body.”
Though he says he only remembers a few details of his dramatic public episode, Russell believes he was trying to hitch a ride.
“I thought, ‘I have to get to New York in the next 12 hours.’ That’s what I thought,” he told Oprah. “’Because I have to stop the war.’ So I ran out to the front and I think I was trying to ask cars to take me to the airport. In my underwear.”
Russell says he has no idea why he was naked.
“It was just very out of control,” he told Oprah, showing her that he pounded his hands on the street so hard he actually dented his wedding ring. “I look at that video and I think, how sad for him.”
When asked if he was gay, he said he was simply “theatrical” and denied rumors that he had performed a lewd act during his meltdown.
“There were rumors of masturbation, but no one who was there ever said that that was happening,” he told Oprah, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m naked so it’s not a far extension of imagination that that would be happening but, no, I don’t remember any of that, and no one we knew there said that I was. I don’t remember anything except like a half-second. I don’t.”
Russell was later diagnosed as having a psychotic breakdown that caused temporary insanity, and says he has been doing yoga and therapy to recover.
“It’s hard for my wife to even talk about it still because it was so scary and traumatizing,”he told the Today show.
He says he’s going to be more watchful of his health this time around, as he promotes Invisible Children’s new film “Move,” which made its YouTube debut on Sunday. The film, which promises a behind-the-scenes look at KONY 2012, asks supporters to march against Joseph Kony on Washington on November 17.
“I don’t think anything can compete with the perfect storm of KONY 2012,” he said, “but we do hope that millions of people do see this next film and know that we’re still committed.”
What do you think? Is he being honest or doing his best to cover up a completely embarrassing story that may have impacted his KONY 2012 campaign of sorts. It’s hard to know because, as he said himself, he’s “theatrical”:
Hollywood Reporter - When Winfrey asked the married filmmaker about rumors he’s gay (“that you were running in the streets nude because you were gay”), he laughed, saying: “I grew up in theater, my parents started a large children’s theater organization, so I am animated, I am … theatrical. That’s me by nature. So when you take me, times it by ten … .”
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Invisible Children: Jason Russell’s Wife, Danica Russell, Speaks Out About Husband’s Masturbation Incident
Jason Russell, the co-founder of Invisible Children, has received an enormous amount of criticism for recently being filmed naked and arrested for publicly masturbating as well. After the KONY 2012 video was released, Russell, along with the rest of the organization, has been focused on and the subject of a controversial debate. Although many are claiming that drugs and/or alcohol were the cause of this breakdown, fewer are suggesting that dehydration, exhaustion and stress are to blame (and most people are aware of publicists and what their jobs are, hence the majority not believing the latter).
Here is Danica Russell’s message to the public:
“Thank you to those who continue to support both us, and Invisible Children. The organization is an extension of our family, and we hope that Jason’s vision and work toward peace in the region remains the focus, and comes as soon as possible, as they continue to work in his absence.
We would, again, like to make it clear that Jason’s incident was in no way the result of drugs or alcohol in his body. The preliminary diagnosis he received is called brief reactive psychosis, an acute state brought on by extreme exhaustion, stress and dehydration. Though new to us, the doctors say this is a common experience given the great mental, emotional and physical shock his body has gone through in these last two weeks. Even for us, it’s hard to understand the sudden transition from relative anonymity to worldwide attention – both raves and ridicules, in a matter of days.
Jason will get better. He has a long way to go, but we are confident that he will make a full recovery. He is, and will remain, under hospital care for a number of weeks; and after that, the recovery process could take months before he is fully able to step back into his role with Invisible Children. During that time, we will focus not on a speedy recovery, but a thorough one.
On Jason’s behalf, keep your attention turned to the end of Africa’s longest running conflict, and setting a precedent for all future injustice.
With love and overflow of gratitude for your prayers, we thank you.”
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[VIDEO] Jason Russell of Invisible Children: Drunk and Naked In The Street Wreaking Havoc
Jason Russell decided it would be a great idea to get drunk, run around naked, curse and masturbate. Unfortunately, the police and many other people didn’t agree. Although a rep for Invisible Children is claiming that this was all due to exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition, we all know that this is just an attempt to cover up the truth.
I’m sure all the criticism of KONY 2012 started to get to the husband, father and co-founder of Invisible Children. While he was hoping Joseph Kony would become famous from this campaign, it seems as though the tables have turned.Well done, Mr. Russell… well done.
YouTube: NEW up-close video: http://youtu.be/TjdH2LDH5LM – TMZ has footage of Kony 2012 honcho Jason Russell in the midst of his naked meltdown in San Diego … pounding his fists in anger and screaming maniacally. More info here: http://www.tmz.com/2012/03/16/kony-honcho-arrested-for-allegedly-masturbating…
As we previously reported, Russell was detained by police yesterday … after witnesses say he was running around naked and making sexual gestures.
Russell was held on a 5150 psychiatric hold … so authorities can decide if he poses a danger to himself or others.
A rep for Invisible Children says Russell was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition as a result of a strenuous PR campaign.
Related articles
- Co-Founder of Invisible Children, Creator of KONY 2012 Video, ARRESTED for Masturbating in Public (blippitt.com)
- Invisible Children Co-Founder Jason Russell Hospitalized Following Breakdown (blippitt.com)
- From Kony To Boney?: Invisible Children Co-Founder Detained For Allegedly Masturbating In Public (mediaite.com)
- ‘Kony 2012′ Mastermind Jason Russell’s Naked Meltdown – CAUGHT ON VIDEO (tmz.com)
[VIDEO] Woman Tasered In Crotch After Rangers Discover She’s Transgendered
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Accompanying article on LGBT Weekly (http://tinyurl.com/7rv7qsz) by Autumn Sandeen (http://tinyurl.com/89yahjg).
Article excerpt:
…Standing, hands up in the air with no visible resistance to arrest, Ranger Petter tazed Brooke Fantelli in the abdomen. At slightly more than 50 seconds into the video, the ranger tazed her a second time — this time in the crotch.
Back when Brooke Fantelli was known as Rodd Fantelli, she was a well known off-road race driver who won numerous races. She owns Fantelli Racing Products in Ramona, a custom off-road fabrication shop with 20 years of fabrication and racing history — she’s still a well known figure in the off-road racing community.
Oct. 22 she was out in the Imperial County desert on federal land. With her were a long-time friend, a photographer, two models and a preteen who was a child of one of the models. They were out in the desert to take photos of the two models for their portfolios, and they were using one of Brooke’s trucks and the desert as the backdrop for the photos.
According to Brooke, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ranger by the name of Petter came by to see what the group was doing. Ranger Petter, in the process of finding out what they were doing, looked at the identification of all of the members of the group, and this is where the problems began…
While this article and video did shock me initially, I still feel we don’t have all the facts and I can’t really make an opinion. Although it’s not mentioned above, Fantelli did refuse to get on the ground (in the dirt), but had said that she would not resist arrest. Unfortunately, she was not given that chance and was instead tazed by Ranger Petter.
The fact that Brooke Fantelli was arrested for public intoxication worries me, mainly because when I was arrested for my DUI, I was convinced that it was still somehow the polices fault since I wasn’t really that drunk. According to her friends, she was not obviously intoxicated, but again, they are her friends.
Either way, someone did happen to pull out a camera because they had felt something unjust was about to happen; It’s not the first time police have been brutal to people based on their own beliefs and idea of morality. If for some reason this video is exactly as it seems and the rangers had no reason to taser the woman (who has her hands up to show cooperation, but at the same time refused to get on the ground), then I hope they get what they deserve. What they would deserve is to be tasered in the crotch and lose their jobs, but somehow, I don’t see that happening,
Related articles
- ‘Tasered & buried’ (thesun.co.uk)
- Woman’s meltdown caught on tape after crash (abclocal.go.com)
- Park Ranger Arrests Woman For Attempting To Record Her Own Traffic Stop (pixiq.com)
- Another Day, Another Lawsuit: Khloe Kardashian Sued By Transgender Woman Who Claims Khloe Beat That Azz (bossip.com)
- New York Has Its First Transgendered Firefighter [Transgender] (jezebel.com)
- South African lesbians live in fear, report finds (guardian.co.uk)
VIDEO: Gumby Attempts To Rob A 7-11 And Fails
This has got to be one of the dumbest criminals I have seen. Who wears a children’s suit, makes a dramatic entrance and fumbles with the gun before letting the clerk know his plan? This dumb ass does.
Dog Takes Trip From Utah To Sunny Southern California, Alone
Sharalyn Cooper and her family had been looking for their miniature pinscher, Fadidle, for about eight months when they finally received a call that shocked the entire family. Seeing as the pup was only one-year-old when she went missing, and so much time had passed, it was unlikely that a reunion was in the future for this family.
Thanks to a Good Samaritan, the young pinscher was brought to an animal shelter in San Diego, CA where they were able to check out the microchip that had been placed under the dogs skin. Workers were shocked to see that Fadidle had traveled from Salt Lake City, Utah, over 750 miles.
Soon after making this realization, it was arranged to have Fadidle fly out to reunite with the family that she had been away from for almost a year. Everyone was relieved and gives most of the credit to that of the microchip.
At Salt Lake International, the Cooper family were overcome with joy at their reunion with Fadidle but wondered what could have happened in the eight long months they had been parted from her.
It is their belief that she was stolen.
Other family members joked that Fadidle had even managed to travel further afield than they ever had, with Mrs Cooper’s son Darien quipping: ‘She’s lucky. She got on a plane before even I did!’
“Hello Kitty” Devotee Preys On Young Girls
Erik Epperson is a 22-year-old guy living in Indiana and working at a pizzeria. He also considers himself a “Hello Kitty” devotee, and tends to wear clothing and accessories to show his admiration.
Unfortunately, right now he is being held on criminal charges for going to California for the purpose of having sex (or sexual activity) with a minor. The odd part is that he willingly admitted that this information was accurate. He stated that he met the San Diego girl on facebook through a mutual friend of theirs. Epperson didn’t stop there, but continued to tell investigators all of his dirty little secrets.
Epperson copped to having sex with about a dozen other female juveniles and said that he “recorded himself having sexual intercourse” with three girls and took a photo of another girl’s nude vagina “because it looked nice.”
He also, told investigators that he “sent nude pictures of his penis to several girls,” adding that he “could not find any girls over 18 years old to date because of what he believed to be his own 15 year old girl personality.”
And he also told the FBI that he was in the process of joining the Navy “so that he could travel to Japan and see the world.” I have a feeling that he was headed to Japan for something other than to sight see. You don’t get sexually involved with 14-year-old Japanese girls in California, and then plan on going to Japan just to “see the world.”
Epperson will probably never be able to prove me right though, due to the fact that he may face up to 30 years in prison for traveling over state lines to have sex with a minor. He should have waited until he was in Japan; Now he’s the one that’s going to be having sex with older inmates, who are most likely not going to be Japanese.