Jason Russell Meltdown: “That Wasn’t Me”

Jason Russell, the man who founded Kony 2012, sat down with Oprah recently to talk about his infamous nude meltdown in March and said that what began as a wave ended as a tsunami. Russell went on a fr...
Jason Russell Meltdown: “That Wasn’t Me”
Written by Amanda Crum
  • Jason Russell, the man who founded Kony 2012, sat down with Oprah recently to talk about his infamous nude meltdown in March and said that what began as a wave ended as a tsunami.

    Russell went on a frightening rampage in the spring, taking to the streets while fully nude and reportedly mumbling incoherently about the devil while stopping cars and beating the pavement with his fists. Russell told Oprah that he doesn’t remember much of it, saying the person doing those things does not equate with his own view of himself.

    “Again, it’s really hard to explain if people who have never had an out-of-body experience, but it really wasn’t me. That wasn’t me, that person on the street corner ranting and raving and naked is not me, that’s not who I am. [I remember] walking around snapping my fingers up and down … slapping my hands on the ground as hard as I can. Just slapping them on the ground. Talking to myself. Ranting. Raving. Talking about good versus evil, God and the devil. I mean it was just very out of control.”

    Russell also goes in depth about what it was like to see his Kony 2012 video go viral almost before his eyes, saying that it hit a million views within 24 hours.

    “From that moment on, instead of just riding the wave on your surfboard, excited…tsunami. And you could feel it, in your bones. The energy. Everyone felt it. It was like, “What have we done?”

    Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit