Jessi Slaughter

About

Jessi Slaughter (real name Jessica Leonhardt and formerly known as KerliGirl13^[1] on YouTube) is a Florida teenager whose attention-seeking behaviors in her YouTube videos caused her to become the target of a 4chan raid, resulting in a rage-fueled and ill-advised retort from her father that became the subject of image macros and remix videos.

Background

The situation began on Stickam^[3] tabloid consisting of self-submitted stories from the site’s community, consisting mostly of rumors and gossip written by and about tweens.

On July 10th, StickyDrama user tdomf_e8e13^[4] posted an accusation^[16] that the vocalist of electronica band Blood On The Dance Floor^[2] (BOTDF) Dahvie Vanity was supposedly involved with Jessi:

BOTDF lead singer Dahvie Vanity is at it again! He was apparently having a “friend with benefits” type of relationship with self-proclamed “scene queen” Jessi Slaughter who is only 11! … I found this pic of the two of them at the may 2nd concert in Orlando.

…I have also talked to other people who say that they did fuck last sumer when she was 10. I cannot believe that Dahvie has sunk to this level! I don’t know whether this rumor is true, but if it is he’s disgusting! [note: bold added for emphasis]

On July 12th, Jessi posted a response video on StickyDrama^[5], denying the claims.

Muh Mom Has Read This And Is Talking To Dahvie On The Fone Right Nao!
So I Would Shut Your Mouths If I Were You!
I Have Muh Life And Dahvie Has His.
We Are Just Friends!

Feud with /b/

By this point, Jessi Slaughter was already making a name for herself as a micro-celebrity in StickyDrama community after posting several inappropriate images and videos of herself via her MySpace, YouTube and other social networking profiles. One video in particular caught the attention of 4chan’s /b/:

The effects of her videos being posted to /b/ and various Tumblr blogs led to Anonymous trolling her with taunts of her being stupid and ugly. She replied with comebacks that had little effect on the trollers.

Anonymous soon uncovered her personal information including phone number, address and her Twitter account, which were released on various Anon-affiliated websites like PartyVan. The trolls soon began flooding the Leonhardts’ house line with prank calls while others sent her hate e-mails. Despite this, Jessi continued taunting the trolls with a newly created Tumblr blog.

In the Stickam video (shown below) uploaded on July 15th, Jessi is seen answering the phone for the prank call^[9] recorded above. At the beginning of the video, she is quoted as saying “any type of fame, I’ll take.”

Jessi’s Father’s Rant

Following the relentless waves of harassment carried out by the trolls, Jessi posted a tearful response video on YouTube, in which her father Gene Leonhardt suddenly comes into the shot and delivers an angry rant.

Unwittingly, he delivered a highly exploitable speech that quickly became adapted into catchphrases and image macros including “You done goofed,” “backtraced,” “cyberpolice,” and “consequences will never be the same.” Shortly after, single serving sites like YouDunGoofd.com^[19] and BecauseIBacktracedIt.com^[12] were launched.

Hoax: Jessi Slaughter Given PCP

Circa 3:00pm (EST) on July 16th, 2010, baseless rumors of “Jessi Slaughter Given PCP by Her Father”^[6] began to rise rapidly on YouTube and Google Trends. The malicious hoax was picked up by social bookmarking services and blogs, where it was soon revealed as mere disinformation^[8] propagated by the trolls using tactics like Googlebombing.

On July 16th and 17th, the online drama was covered by numerous internet blogs and news sites including TheDailyWhat^[10], BuzzFeed^[11], BoingBoing^[13], Gawker^[15] and San Francisco Chronicles^[14].

YouTube Parodies

On YouTube, viewers followed up with their own remixes, re-enactments and other commentaries on Jessi and her father’s rant.

Police Investigation

According to Jessi’s mom, Dianne Leonheardt, in addition to the prank calls placed after her phone number was spread on the internet, the family began receiving death threats. Because of this, Gawker^[21] reported on the evening of July 18th that Jessi had been placed under police protection soon after the video went viral. The local sheriff has begun a criminal investigation into this calls and a court has ordered her to stay off the internet until at least July 21st. In addition, the family is currently under constant police surveillance.

Several hours later, Gawker updated the article to note that a spokeswoman from the Marion County, Florida sheriff’s department stated that, while there is a current investigation involving an eleven year old girl, they are looking into the existence of pornographic pictures of her and the prank calls referencing them. The spokeswoman was also quoted as saying “There have been no death threats or threats of harm in any way.”

The latest footage uploaded on August 2nd, 2010 allegedly shows a heated argument between Jessi and her dad, recorded by another Tinychat user who was logged in the same chat room during her side exchange with father.

Child Abuse Charges

On March 25th, 2011, The Daily What^[20] reported that Gene Leonhardt appeared in court to plead not guilty to child abuses charges. He was released on a $5000 bond.

According to an official report^[22] filed by a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Loenhardt supposedly slapped Jessica in the mouth during a heated argument, causing her to bleed. Leonhardt, who police say appeared intoxicated, claims he struck his daughter after she punched him, and that the blood on her face was “theatrical blood.”

On July 7th, 2011, additional police reports were released by Marion County Sheriff’s Office and The Smoking Gun^[23] published an article revealing the details of Jessi’s behavioral issues and Gene Leonhardt’s arrest earlier in February.

4chan vs. Gawker

Included in Adrian Chen’s series of Gawker^[24] articles about the situation was one entitled “The Art of Trolling: Inside a 4chan Smear Campaign.” After outlining 4chan’s plan of attack against Dahvie Vanity with screenshots and links, Chen linked to a chatroom, daring readers to troll it. Enraged, /b/ set out to take down Gawker’s main servers around noon on July 19th. When the site did not go down, an attack against Adrian Chen was launched. Gawker^[25] posted an article detailing the entire plot, stating that they were not afraid.

Coverage of the attempt to take down Gawker appeared on the Village Voice blog^[26] and New York Magzine’s Daily Intel.^[27]

Jessi’s Mother Speaks

On July 20th, Momlogic^[28] interviewed Jessi’s mother; revealing her own lack of parental supervision.

Excerpt:

ml: Were you aware that your daughter had been making and posting these videos online?

DL: Jessica has a webcam and a computer. All of her friends have webcams, too, so they video chat with each other. I knew she’d made a video to apply for “America’s Got Talent.” She sings and sent an audition video in. I had no idea she was making other videos. I have seen her chatting with her friends, but not making videos.

ml: When did you find out about the videos, and what was your reaction?

DL: The officers had said there were videos, but Jess denied making them. Then my mother-in-law called and said there were videos. But I haven’t watched them. I can’t be in the room 24/7. We tried to talk to Jess last night, but she got very upset all over again. I am trying to get her back to normal. It’s taken a very emotional toll on her. I don’t know if she made these videos or not, but she says she didn’t. Right now, I am trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not. This has been very difficult to deal with.

Jessi on Good Morning America

On July 22nd Jessi appeared on Good Morning America to discuss how the reaction to her videos has changed her life and revealed she would begin counseling. (Gawker)

4chan prepared for a mention from the show with Operation /b/ipolar, and played the Good Morning America theme in the background of the /b/ board with a stickied thread featuring this image. That day, “4chan is family oriented” became a trending search on Google Insights.

Jessi’s Apology

On August 11th, 2011, YouTube user HiroKasumi uploaded a video titled “Jessi Slaughter Apologies ^[2011]” where Jessica apologizes to the band Blood on the Dance Floor for accusing them of rape. She claims she is currently in foster care after going through several mental institutions. The video is recorded by a friend of hers since she has no computer privileges

Death of Jessi’s Father

On August 14th, 2011, Jessi’s mother posted a status update on her Facebook account claiming that her husband Gene Leonhardt passed away on August 11th, the same day her apology video was uploaded, due to a massive heart attack:

A screenshot of the Facebook post was posted to Funny Junk^[18] on August 15th. According to an obituary in the West Virginia Gazette^[17], a Gene C. Leonhardt died on August 11th, 2011.

Gene C. Leonhardt, 53, of Dunnellon died Aug. 11, 2011, at home.

External References