A New Jersey Superior Court judge is being investigated by the court for making TikToks in his chambers and while wearing his judge robes, according to a complaint filed by the Advisory Committee for Judicial Conduct last Friday.
The complaint states that Judge Gary N. Wilcox of Bergen County, New Jersey, created a public TikTok account under the name Sal Tortorella, where he posted content that was “inappropriate and brought disrepute to the Judiciary.” This content was inappropriate either because it included “references to violence, sex, and misogyny,” was filmed “in chambers, in the courthouse, [or] in a bed,” or because Wilcox filmed it while “wearing his judicial robes and/or partially dressed while lying in bed.”
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“Respondent recorded several TikTok videos in his chambers, including songs which contained profanity, graphic sexual references to female and male body parts, and/or racist terms,” the complaint states. “In one such video recorded in chambers, Respondent, wearing a T-shirt with his face close to the camera, lip-syncs the following lyrics from Jump by Rihanna: ‘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.’”
As of Wednesday morning, the account appears to have been deleted or made private, as Motherboard could not find it on the app.
“In a second video, Respondent, while in chambers with law books visible behind him and wearing a suit and tie, lip-syncs the following: ‘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 complaint states. It cites another video where the judge was “in his chambers wearing a suit and holding cash,” and another where he “smiles at the camera” while Touch It by Busta Rhymes plays in the background.
“By his conduct in posting these and similar videos to TikTok, Respondent exhibited poor judgment and demonstrated disrespect for the Judiciary and an inability to conform to the high standards of conduct expected of judges,” the complaint states.
Wilcox’s lawyer told The New York Times on Monday that he would be filing a response to the complaint after reviewing it.
“In a still-frame screenshot of Respondent’s profile page, Respondent added the following text: ‘100 followers! Thanks so much!! 😊😊😊” the complaint states.
