Published on March 16th, 2012 | by Kim LaCapria
0Kony 2012 Charity Co-Founder Arrested For Allegedly Masturbating in Public After Sunny San Diego Meltdown
The celebrity cycle has become somewhat abbreviated, it would seem, with Jason Russell, the co-founder of the charity behind the explosively viral “Kony 2012” video on an involuntary psychiatric hold after a strange incident in broad daylight on a San Diego street in the shadow of Sea World.
Whew, that was a lot of information for one sentence. Already, Russell and his organization Invisible Children had experienced meteoric web fame with the excessively shared clip- and as is common with the internet notoriety schedule, a vicious teardown of the charity ensued within about two days. All that went down in early March, and Thursday, 33-year-old Russell was arrested on the street in San Diego after police say he masturbated in public and vandalized cars while under the influence of a substance. (Potentially NSFW video, below.)
Reps for Russell have released the following compulsory “exhaustion” explanation for Russell’s behavior- which would wash a bit better if the organization head was on the scene in Africa and not likely a block from a California Starbucks- and the incident is likely to not improve the mixed-to-suspicious feelings the public has about Invisible Children:
“Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday.”
The statement continues:
“Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.”