The San Diego man who made the "Kony 2012'' video that went viral on the Internet, then suffered a public meltdown in Pacific Beach, said today that he fell victim to the film's overwhelming popularity.
Jason Russell has resurfaced in the past couple of days via interviews with Oprah Winfrey and on NBC's "Today'' show, and a new video released by his organization, Invisible Children, that calls for a march on the nation's capital next month.
"Kony 2012'' became the most viral online video ever after it was released earlier this year. It put the spotlight on African warlord Joseph Kony, who the group accuses of abducting children, using them as soldiers and killing them.
"My mind betrayed me and I was hospitalized,'' Russell says in new video, referring to when he acted in a bizarre fashion while walking nude in public. "I'm so sorry to the thousands of people who were confused and who were scared and didn't trust us because of what happened.''
According to Invisible Children, the organization received thousands of emails after the release of the video, and could never get the number of unread mail in its inbox below 4,000.
In the latest video, Russell said he couldn't sleep after nonstop interviews and a backlash by viewers who raised doubts about the film's veracity and the organization's financial practices.
"The conversation changed from Joseph Kony and the children who were victims of the war to who is this nonprofit? Who is this filmmaker?'' Russell said.
The organization is organizing the Nov. 17 march in Washington, D.C., for Nov. 17 to pressure world leaders into attending a summit that will focus on capturing Kony, he said.
