KONY director to explain his public meltdown to Oprah
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Jason Russell, the director behind one of the most successful viral videos in history who was arrested for allegedly masturbating in public and vandalizing cars in the spring, will break his silence in an upcoming episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter."
Russell — whose half-hour documentary Kony 2012, urging action against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, took in more than 100 million views in just one week in the spring — was arrested March 15 in San Diego after several people reported a man running along a street in his underwear and screaming.
The family of Russell, who also co-founded the organization Invisible Children, later said that drugs and alcohol didn't play a role in the incident, which was instead sparked by the sudden fame Russell was experiencing at the time.
"Jason's incident was in no way the result of drugs or alcohol in his body," the family statement said. "The preliminary diagnosis he received is called brief reactive psychosis, an acute state brought on by extreme exhaustion, stress and dehydration."
The family added: "Even for us, it's hard to understand the sudden transition from relative anonymity to worldwide attention — both raves and ridicules, in a matter of days."
OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network teased the Russell interview during Sunday's "Oprah's Next Chapter," featuring Winfrey's sitdown with Stephen Colbert. Russell's interview will air Oct. 7.
Oprah's Next Chapter airs at 9 p.m. Sundays.
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