This Dude Still Abides
July 5, 2018 4:28 PM   Subscribe

Achiever and Founder of Lebowski Fest Will Russell has struggled with mental health, addiction, media and an abandoned amusement park but now he's back with a new project.
posted by hairless ape (3 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
Good for him. But I couldn't help snickering at this clause: "the two-fold purpose of reaching out to those in need and normalizing mental health."
Yes, mental health has never been in greater need of normalization.
(I know what they meant. It's the Freudian slip aspect.)
posted by homerica at 5:51 PM on July 5, 2018


I have some issues with this whole come back story, being a Louisvillian. The dude wasted tax-payer money on his amusement park (that he eventually destroyed or let be destroyed, including property that he didn't own that he was borrowing), sexually harassed dozens of women, vandalized two properties that housed his business that he didn't own, abandoned his family to run around the world with a random harem of yes-men and women, fought cops and was arrested at his own festival (which he also let flounder), and ruined so many local professional and interpersonal relationships that he barely had a leg to stand on. Everyone just sort turned a blind eye to it while the ship sunk but now IT'S FINE, HE WROTE A THING ABOUT BEING BIPOLAR, LET'S EMBRACE HIM AND TRUST HIM AGAIN! Eh?

Of course I think mental illness shouldn't be overlooked in this case, and I applaud him for getting help and speaking about it, but from what I know of him and of the scene he was in, he felt he was untouchable due to enabling from his peers and a massive ego that got a bit too out of control.
posted by Young Kullervo at 5:42 AM on July 6, 2018 [5 favorites]


Also a Louisvillian. I live around the corner from the original WHY store (he trashed the inside one night and sprayed painted over a mural on the side of the building) and his very public downward spiral a few years ago was a sad thing to witness. I've seen him fairly often recently, walking in the park and at neighborhood coffee shops looking good, so I kinda figured he had gotten to a better place. I and many people wish him the best, but I do wonder how far the community will go in trusting him again.
posted by chaoticgood at 6:15 PM on July 6, 2018


« Older But the topic here was wolves, and that weaponized...   |   "Okay, but I'm gonna need you to write me a... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments