Old Video Shows Jordan Neely Losing It in Middle of Michael Jackson Act, Violently Attacking Man on Street
Eleven years ago, Jordan Neely lost his cool and attacked a personality from “The Howard Stern Show.”
Neely, a mentally disturbed homeless man, died May 8 on a New York City subway car after ranting at passengers, leading to some riders trying to get him under control. One of them, Marine Corps veteran Daniel Penny, put him in a chokehold. Neely’s death has been ruled a homicide and led to protests across the city.
Joseph Bassolino, known as “Joey Boots” as a member of Stern’s “Wack Pack,” confronted Neely a few years before his own death in 2016.
Bassolino was trolling Times Square looking for fodder for the show when he came upon Neely, who at the time was a Michael Jackson impersonator, according to the New York Post.
A YouTube video chronicles the often-profane interaction, in which Bassolino cracked jokes related to the child abuse allegations against the late pop star.
“What does Michael Jackson think when he sees a little boy at McDonald’s? He thinks of a Happy Meal. He’s like, ‘Mmm Happy Meal,’” Bassolino said near the beginning of the interaction.
WARNING: The following videos contain vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
At first, Neely tried to keep his cool, telling Bassolino to get away from him. When Bassolino said, “You gonna moonwalk all over me?” he replied in a barely audible voice, “I’m not gonna moonwalk all over you.”
After a short time, Neely broke away and spoke to an employee of the nearby Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Bassolino then chided Neely for not dancing for him, which produced Neely’s response.
“You’re a fat f***, man, I’m telling you that,” he said. “You’re a fat f***.”
Neely proceeded to use the anti-gay slur “f*****” to describe Bassolino and said the rainbow on his shirt made him “look like a f***ing drag queen.”
Here is Jordan Neely openly attacking the gay community, drag queens, and using homophobic slurs before physically assaulting a man.
Where do liberals go from here? pic.twitter.com/c5dSMXMwsS
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) May 5, 2023
Bassolino appeared to turn away while continuing to taunt Neely, saying, “Yeah, that guy was crazy.”
That’s when Neely, now fully provoked, went after him.
“What, n*****! I’m about to smack that f***ing camera out your hand. … F*** out of here!” he said.
Neely appeared to take a swing at Bassolino.
The “Wack Packer” kept taunting him, saying, “I just stepped on your jacket, Michael. I just stepped on your jacket.”
The video ended with Bassolino walking down the street chortling, “Michael Jackson got pissed off. Michael Jackson’s nuts.”
“Man, that was great, man. I can’t wait to throw that up on YouTube,” he said. “That’s a good one, man.”
“I’m heading home in one piece,” Bassolino added. “Michael threw a punch at me too and it just grazed my forehead. Funny, very funny.”
The website Snopes noted that around 2013, Neely’s behavior doing his Michael Jackson impersonation began to noticeably decline.
Neely, who had 42 arrests over the past 10 years, had multiple mental health issues, according to the New York Post.
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