NJ judge suspended for TikTok videos where he mouthed sexy and explicit lyrics in judicial robes or half-naked: report

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 b...