The Return of Kony 2012 Mastermind Jason Russell, Now With 80% Less Psychosis
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Invisible Children co-founder and Kony 2012 director Jason Russell, fresh out of the hospital from his highly-publicized nervous breakdown, was back in finger-snapping glory when he sat down with Oprah yesterday to talk about his meltdown and his new campaign. (But mostly about his meltdown.) Russell’s not exactly sure what went wrong, but he does know that he was a victim of the media — and Invisible Children’s new campaign focuses more on Russell’s hardships than on those of Africa’s “invisible children.”
Why Did Russell Make the Kony 2012 Video?
Sure, Russell was inspired by big words such as injustice, inaction, Africa, etc. But he was also inspired by Oprah. “To be honest, truly, your master class changed my life,” he told her. “You’re kidding,” she responded, looking slightly sick. With great power comes great responsibility!
Later, she recovered enough to give Russell props for exposing all of the previously invisible children of Africa. “What I think is so admirable about Invisible Children is that you all have brought to the forefront, have made the world acknowledge, that yes life does matter,” she said — right before asking Russell a ton of questions about whether he’s gay and if he was masturbating on that fateful, sunny San Diego day.
So What About Those Gay Rumors, Anyway?
Oprah reminded Russell that his heterosexuality was challenged after he ran around naked in the street. (Yes, that is the only reason.) “I’ve heard those rumors,” Russell laughed:“In the video I’m snapping my finger up and down…I grew up in theater… I am animated. I am theatrical. And that’s me by nature. So When you take me and times it by 10… I don’t know what was in my head, but it was controlling my body and making me do really strange things.”
Maybe his body was possessed by the spirit of Bob Fosse?
Wasn’t He Masturbating?
Maybe. Possibly. It would make sense. “There were rumors of masturbation but no one who was there ever said that that was happening,” Russell said. “Masturbation is…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.”
So What Does He Remember?
Russell remembers “flipping off cars,” running around trees, and stopping cars by laying in the street, but that he doesn’t remember why he took his clothes off because that person was not the real him. He said he started running around outside because he became convinced he had to get back to New York in the next 12 hours. “That’s what I thought, because I have to stop the war…I think I was trying to ask cars to take me to the airport. In my underwear.”
But Why Did He Have the Breakdown in the First Place?
Russell attributed his meltdown to his newfound star power and a website that he says “cut” him:
“It was so high, I kept thinking wow and then it was like you’re the worst. You’re terrible. The thing that got my mind spinning is these powerful people in the world are looking to you for what’s next. That made me feel alone. It also made me feel like I had to have the answer to the future. I thought oh my God, the U.N. (United Nations) is contacting us.”
He expanded on this point on Today:
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