Jason Russell, the creator of the “Kony 2012” viral video and a co-founder of the advocacy group Invisible Children, had a very public meltdown last week. Now his organization explains that a “brief reactive psychosis” brought on his public outburst on a San Diego street corner last week.
STORY: Stop Kony 2012’s Jason Russell’s Naked Meltdown Caught On Camera!
In a statement released through Invisible Children:
“The preliminary diagnosis he received is called brief reactive psychosis, an acute state brought on by the 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.”
Danica Russell, the wife of 33-year-old Jason Russell, issued the statement saying:
“On behalf of the family, Russell will remain hospitalized for a number of weeks and that the recovery process could take months before he is fully able to step back into his role with Invisible Children.”
The “Kony 2012” received over 100 million views on YouTube and Vimeo in just four weeks.
The statement from Russell’s family also emphasized that the “incident was in no way the result of drugs or alcohol.”
TMZ first reported the story on Friday that Russell was “under the influence of some kind of substance,” but Lt. Andra Brown, a San Diego Police Department spokeswoman, refuted that claim.
In an interview with the New York Times Brown said:
“If we thought he was under the influence, we wouldn’t have taken him to a hospital; we would have taken him to jail.”
Hopefully Russell gets the proper help he needs.
