Moving Moments: “ - JERRY F*CKING JUDGE… THIS SONG IS FOR YOU MY BROTHEEERRR!!!” [Johnny’s tribute to Jerry Judge]
2 years ago, on May 10, the Hollywood Vampires started their 2019 Spring Tour and during their next 7 shows, while singing his cover of “People Who Died”, Johnny opened his heart and made a lovely tribute to his late friend and bodyguard, Jerry Judge, who passed away just one month earlier.
The song, originally from The Jim Carroll Band, is known for being “a catalogue of young people Carroll knew growing up who met tragic ends”. During the tour, the Hollywood Vampires also pays homage to their loved ones who passed away, like Hunter S. Thompson, Marlon Brando, Lemmy Kilmister, Prince, Bela Lugosi and others who had their photos added on a backdrop video screened on the big screen behind the members.
Johnny’s homage comes after the chorus of the 5th verse, replacing the 6th verse for a speech. All the members slow down their instruments and Johnny got very emotional (something I think most of us didn’t have seen in a long time). Now the backdrop shows a photo of Jerry, taken during the filming of “Dark Shadows” in 2011. Johnny looks up to him, points up proudly, and for the first time talks to the audience on stage expressing his feelings toward his huge friend… We all know how hard is for him to talk on public and stage and he did it throughout the next 7 nights.
“That mountain… Used to stand right there on the other side of the stage. Jerry was a bulldog, made MI5*, he’d take a bullet in the head just to keep me around… We call him equalizer, instead of his name… And then he found relief from the cancer’s pain. He is still there. Jerry f*cking judge… THIS SONG IS FOR YOU MY BROTHER!!!”
*MI5 (stands for “Military Intelligence, Section 5 and is the British domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, and part of its intelligence machinery and known for keep the country safe and to protect people from danger whether it be from terrorism or damaging espionage by hostile states)
This only one of the dozen of tributes Johnny and the Vampires did in Jerry memory. Johnny, as well his bodyguards, also wore a t-shirt with Jerry’s face on the front and a handwritten message of Johnny on the back, which were also added to the balls that they threw during the last song to the audience, and to the guitar pins they usually thrown to the audience. One of then, Johnny turned into a lapel pin and wore during one of his trial days in London, on July 24, 2020. Still in 2019, Johnny also tattooed Jerry’s face on his arm along his initials (JJ) and the number 13, which were previously written in a black piece of cloth that Johnny wore during the tour as an armband around his left arm as a symbol of mourning.
And in spirit Jerry was there, and is still taking care of Johnny on the corner of the stage, the same side we can see Johnny always playing, and wherever he goes running around to protect him.
Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Judge. Rest in power.
IN MEMORIAM: Today(April 5, 2022), marks 3 years without our eternal bodyguard, Jerry Judge.
Rest in Power, Mr. Jerry Judge…Keep protecting our baby boy.
God. I watched this movie and felt so proud of my African heritage. I watched my little brother run around yelling “Wakanda Forever!” I really don’t know what to say, except that Chadwick Boseman changed the world for so many people.
Erica Garner (1990-2017) was an advocate for police reform in the United States. She became involved with the cause after her father, Eric Garner, was killed while in a chokehold during his arrest.
She was an important Black Lives Matter activist, and staged numerous marches and protests for the cause. The Garner Way Foundation, which she established, worked to promote political awareness and social activism.
“Racism is built into the DNA of America. As long as we turn a blind eye to the pain of those suffering under its oppression, we will never escape those origins.” - Annalise Keating
“If you had asked any casting director who would be the sort of man to cast as Bond, an Etonbred Englishman, the last person into the box would have been me, a working-class Scotsman. And I didn’t particularly have the face for it; at 16 I looked 30, although I was never really aware of age until I was in my 20s. When I was acting with Lana Turner I realized suddenly I was 28 – and I’m even more aware of time and age now than I was then. But today my face is accepted as Bond, and that’s how it should be.”
The projects that I end up doing, that I want to be involved with in any way, have always been projects that will be impactful, for the most part, to my people — to black people. To see black people in ways which you have not seen them before. So Black Panther was on my radar, and in my dreams.
You have inspired a new generation of warrior kings. Your strength and kindness have moved hearts. Thank you for the light you gave this world. Find peace now, dear one. Good night.
There was a time we were very close. We lost touch over the past couple of years but I’ve always been in your corner. Always watching. Always rooting for you. You always had my love. Loved seeing your genius and humor flourish from a distance. So very proud of you.
Kind, loving, passionate, so fucking funny, brilliant, quick wit, breezy, pure light. ✨
I’m absolutely gutted by the news of your sudden death. This world is cruel and unfair.
I love you forever Michael Brooks.
I love you Michael. I’ll never forget you and what you taught me and how you made me feel. I will miss you for the rest of my life. Rest well.
Today, Breonna Taylor would have turned 27. In honor of her, please consider donating to the gofundme her family has set up, and help those in her community who are fighting for her by donating to Louisville Community Bail Fund . Also, please sign petitions:includingthe petitionset up by the Action PAC (it is aiming for 1 million signatures), the petition that’s been going around social media (it is aiming for 4.5 million signatures), the MoveOn petition (it is aiming for 600,000 signatures), and the ColorofChange petition (it has reached it’s goal of 750,000 signatures, but you can still sign). All of these petitions urge the Kentuckygovernment to hire a special prosecutor to investigate the three police officers responsible for her death, to investigate the Louisville police department, to ensure the LMPD pays her family, and to get Congress to discuss the constitutionality of no-knock warrants. Additionally, visit the website set up by the political committee her family contacted, where you can make calls to key officials.
I got this from a Google Doc but I think it’s hard to access because of how many people who has requested it but here is the tweet with the links to every petitionyou need to sign (not just ones concerning Breonna) and other place to donate. There are templates provided on that document to help you write an email or make a call to certain officials. I provided links to their emails/websites, in case that’s easier to make use of than making phone calls.
With the FBI opening the case again, let’s ensure that the 3 officers involved in the murder face jail time, and that the demands in these petitions are met.
