A New Jersey judge is in trouble for using TikTok to post videos of himself lip-syncing to songs that reference violence, sex and more.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct recently filed the complaint saying Superior Court Judge Gary N. Wilcox opened his social media account under the name “Sal Tortorella” in early 2021 and posted about 40 videos until early 2023. According to the complaint, Wilcox recorded some of the videos in the courthouse while wearing his judicial robes.
One video, recorded in chambers, shows the judge wearing a t-shirt with his face close to the camera, lip-syncing Rihanna‘s “Jump” song, the complaint states.
“If you want it let’s do it. Ride it, my pony. My saddle is waitin’, come and jump on it,” Wilcox sang, according to the allegations.
The complaint also points to a video of Wilcox lip-syncing while wearing a suit and a tie in his chambers.
“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!” the judge sang, the complaint states.
Another video showed the judge walking through the courthouse and lip-syncing “Get Down” by Nas while wearing a Beavis and Butt-Head t-shirt. The track features derogatory lyrics, as well as gang and drug references.
According to the New York Times, Wilcox’s attorney Robert B. Hille said he will soon file a response to the complaint.
“I don’t think that at the end of the day, anybody is going to believe there was any desire to do any harm here,” Hille said. “Hindsight is 20-20.”
The judge is required to respond to the complaint in the next 20 days, NorthJersey.com reported. Wilcox will be scheduled for a formal hearing after he submits his response. The 58-year-old judge may face private or public discipline, including the possibility of being removed from the bench, NBC News reported.
Wilcox, a Harvard graduate, has been practicing law in New Jersey since 1989.
