Invisible Children Co-Founder Detained After Public Meltdown: Will the Incident Affect the KONY 2012 Campaign?

The KONY 2012 viral video may have as many critics as it does fans. And it seems like the negative attention may have pushed Invisible Children Co-Founder Jason Russell over the edge.



Russell, director of the video about African warlord Joseph Kony, was detained in San Diego, CA on Thursday for being drunk and masturbating in public. According to reports, Russell was seen dancing around, vandalizing cars, and running through traffic wearing only his underwear. Eventually, the 33-year-old removed his underwear and began making sexual gestures.

Russell was not arrested and there are no plans to charge him with a crime. However, Russell is being hospitalized on a 5150 psychiatric hold, which allows authorities to observe him for up to three days to determine if he represents a threat to either himself or others.

According to Mr. Russell’s wife Danica Russell, her husband’s irrational behavior was brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration, stemming from the unexpected attention and criticism generated by his film.

“We thought a few thousand people would see the film, but in less than a week, millions of people around the world saw it,” she said.

“While that attention was great for raising awareness about Joseph Kony, it also brought a lot of attention to Jason and, because of how personal the film is, many of the attacks against it were also very personal, and Jason took them very hard,” she added.

What do you think SodaHeads? Considering the fact that Twitter users have been discussing the meltdown using the hashtag #Horny2012, do you think the incident will affect the KONY 2012 campaign?