A New Jersey judge was suspended for three months for a series of TikTok videos in which he lip-synced raunchy and curse-filled lyrics — sometimes half naked or in his judicial robes, a report said.
Beren County Superior Court Judge Gary Wilcox used the pseudonym “Sal Tortorella” to post 40 videos over two years starting in April 2021 — but his attorneys claim the clips were “innocent fun” even though some of the lyrics included references to sex and violence.
The Harvard-educated jurist’s choice of background scenery also raised eyebrows — namely, his decision to film some in his courthouse chambers, wearing his judicial robes or half-naked in bed, according to a 2023 complaint from the state Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct.
Wilcox’s attorneys tried to downplay his actions, saying the judge opened a TikTok account during the COVID-19 pandemic because he’d heard it was a “popular way to connect” with people, according to the Star-Ledger.
“It was a simple exercise in what was believed to be innocent fun,” the attorneys wrote in their response to the accusations. “He never intended any harm, let alone to himself or the judiciary.
“Since this activity seemed like silly, harmless, and innocent fun, [Wilcox] opened his account out of curiosity to explore this new phenomenon.”
But the veteran jurist also acknowledged in court documents that some of the videos featured inappropriate language and actions that some might see as “bringing disrepute to the judiciary.”
In one of the videos, Wilcox fakes the lyrics to Rihanna’s song “Jump,” including the lines: “If you want it let’s do it. Ride it, my pony. My saddle is waitin’, come and jump on it. If you want it, let’s do it,” according to the original complaint.
In another, the 59-year-old judge dressed in a suit and tie and posed in front of law books as he lip-synced the words, “All my life, I’ve been waiting for somebody to whoop my ass. I mean business! You think you can run up on me and whip my monkey ass? Come on. Come on!”
It’s not clear how many followers he had on the since-deleted account, which featured at least one song with “explicit lyrics concerning a criminal case and a courtroom shooting as well as derogatory and discriminatory terms, drug and gang references, and the killing of a doctor in a hospital who treated another gang member.”
The complaint also said one video showed the judge smiling at the camera with superimposed text that read: “When an ex-girlfriend calls you ‘Santa’ because of your new white beard.”
The song “Touch” by Busta Rhymes played in the background, and included the lyrics: “For the record, just a second, I’m freakin’ it out. While she tryin’ to touch, see, I was peepin’ it out. She turned around and was tryin’ to put my d–k in her mouth. I let her.”
Needless to say, the judicial committee didn’t think Wilcox’s videos were all that innocent — even though the judge claimed he never intended for a wider audience to see them.
Wilcox’s attorneys asked the committee to simply admonish him, since the embarrassment and public humiliation to which he’s been subjected has been bad enough.
Instead, the committee suspended him starting Tuesday, the Ledger said. He’ll be off the bench until Jan. 8, 2025.
Wilcox agreed to the punishment, which the committee said was in response to his breaking three judicial conduct rules: One that requires judges to “observe high standards and conduct,” another that demands they avoid impropriety and a third that says they must behave outside the courtroom in a way that doesn’t cast doubt on their ability to be impartial, according to the outlet.
A former federal prosecutor, Wilcox was first appointed to the Superior Court bench by Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2011, then re-appointed by Democrat Phil Murphy in 2018.
Both nominations required state Senate approval, which Wilcox got.
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