Former spouses John Wayne and Lorena Bobbitt participated in the new Amazon Studios docuseries "Lorena." — Getty/Reuters
If there’s one person who will be watching a new documentary on Lorena Bobbitt, it’s her ex-husband.
“Lorena,” a four-part docuseries from Amazon Studios, aims to shed light on the notorious case that quickly became tabloid fodder and a late-night punchline — on June 23, 1993, the then-24-year-old cut off the penis of her sleeping husband John Wayne Bobbitt, 26, in small-town Manassas, Va., and fled the scene, organ in hand. She drove off from their home and flung the penis out of the driver’s side window into a field.
Police later went digging through the overgrown roadside grass for the missing member, The New York Times reported, found it, and put it on ice in a Big Bite hot dog box from a nearby 7-Eleven, and then rushed it to the hospital for the bleeding spouse. Bobbitt then underwent surgery for nearly 10 hours and had it reattached.
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At the time, a distraught Lorena, who now goes by her maiden name Gallo, claimed she endured years of domestic violence and was raped by her drunk husband on that fateful night, causing her to snap.
"From what I saw, it was clear to me that Lorena Bobbitt had been abused by her husband," said state forensic psychologist Dr. Evan Nelson in the film. "But from a legal and mental health perspective... What matters is whether she was so mentally ill that she knew what she was doing but she was incapable of stopping that impulse. That was the issue [with this case]."
Neighbors told filmmakers they felt something sinister was occurring within the marriage and that at one point, Gallo's "makeup was thicker than usual."
In a statement to Fox News, filmmaker Joshua Rofé said: “Lorena, John Wayne and more than 40 other witnesses, attorneys, jurors and experts were interviewed over the course of a year to give this docuseries a complete picture of events that took place. This is something Lorena Gallo was not afforded 25 years ago when the story was misconstrued and unfairly sensationalized in the public eye.”
John Wayne Bobbitt participated in the new Amazon Studios docuseries "Lorena." (Amazon Studios)
“It was our expressed intention to right the wrongs of the past by giving her a platform to tell her side of the story as a survivor of domestic violence,” added Rofé.
The docuseries, executive produced by Jordan Peele, is available Friday for streaming on Amazon — the same night Reelz will air their documentary “Lorena Bobbitt: What Happened?”
While all these years Gallo has avoided turning the high-profile tale into a film or TV series, she agreed to participate in the Amazon project in hopes of finally telling her story. Bobbitt also agreed to participate.
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Lorena Bobbitt (who goes by her maiden name Gallo) chose to participate in the new Amazon Studios docuseries about the infamous case. (Amazon Studios)
Despite Bobbitt's involvement, the 51-year-old told Fox News the creators of “Lorena” had allegedly set him up to make him look bad.
“[The filmmakers] came from LA, they didn’t tell me what it was for and that it was a non-titled documentary,” Bobbitt alleged. “They didn’t want… to tell me that it’s for Lorena. … They’re trying to paint this picture of a bad boy, you know? This violent mean guy. They brought me out up to the shooting range, shooting with all these different types of weapons and riding in my Harley, wearing a skull mask and all that. They want to get this video, obviously this visual of this bad guy, you know? … I have never talked to Jordan Peele, and Jordan Peele has never seen my transcripts [from my trial].”
In response to the allegations, a rep for Amazon said they were sticking with their initial statement from director and executive producer Rofé.
A rep for Peele did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt on their wedding day. (Amazon Studios)
Bobbitt insisted he has never harmed Gallo during their turbulent marriage.
“Lorena lied and made this all up,” he alleged. “She just went with it, and she’s still going with it. And it sucks. … [You] stick up for battered women and children, why not stick up for battered men too? Because men are also battered by women. I was battered by Lorena. My penis was cut off. … I woke up without a penis. … I was upset, I was embarrassed. … She wanted it all and nothing was going to stand in her way.”
In the film, Gallo described her union with the former Marine as a living nightmare.
"I felt like I was in hell," she recalled. "I felt a sense of peace when he wasn’t in the house. … I was suffering from anxiety. I couldn’t eat anything… I couldn’t even sleep. My health was deteriorating."
Lorena Bobbitt during her trial. (Amazon Studios)
Still, Gallo admitted she still tried to make things work and believed that having a family of her own to love would change everything.
"I was a virgin when I married John," she described. "To me, divorce was a failure. ... I had hopes things were going to change. This could be the family I always wanted. It’s the beginning of a new life. It could be the end of sadness."
After the infamous night, Gallo and Bobbitt were initially charged in separate trials, Rolling Stone reported. For her, it was malicious wounding and for him, it was martial sexual assault. However, both were acquitted. Gallo, whose trial was televised by Court TV, successfully pleaded not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. The couple officially divorced in 1995.
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John Wayne Bobbitt during the trial. (Amazon Studios)
Gallo has consistently avoided the spotlight. The magazine reported that at one point, the young woman – who was born in Ecuador but raised in Venezuela – turned down a million dollar offer to pose for Playboy at a time when she was the sole provider for her parents, who joined her in the U.S. after the divorce. Instead, she has focused on launching the Lorena Gallo Foundation, which is dedicated to raising awareness on domestic violence and offering support to loved ones.
In 1998, she did briefly stir headlines when she was accused of attacking her mother in a fight reportedly over family bills. Deseret News reported her mother Elvia Gallo testified she was the one who started the fight and denied her daughter hit her. Gallo was acquitted.
As for Bobbitt, he and his reattached manhood skyrocketed to fame. He went on to star in adult films, became a fixture on “The Howard Stern Show” and served as a greeter at the Bunny Ranch in Las Vegas.
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John Wayne Bobbitt and porn star Crystal Gold attend the "John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut" Beverly Hills Premiere on September 29, 1994 at Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty)
Bobbitt said that “abandonment” from his part was the real reason Gallo snapped that night. Bobbitt maintained he originally wanted out of the unhappy marriage and was not ready to become a father at that point in his life.
“The thing is that she was devastated when I said that I wanted a divorce, that I was moving out,” he alleged. “She was never the one leaving. I always left and she always wanted to get back together. Apparently, I was her everything. I was her American dream. [But] I wasn’t deep in the marriage like she was. … A woman scorned and all that bulls—-t, I guess is the old saying because Lorena got evil.”
“Lorena," however, also chronicles the numerous charges Bobbitt has been faced with over the years. In particular, it includes an interview with a tearful ex-girlfriend who claimed she was tied up and raped repeatedly by Bobbitt. He denied the allegations to The New York Times.
Gallo and the filmmakers behind “Lorena” said they hope conversations concerning domestic violence will be taken more seriously.
John Wayne Bobbitt (Amazon Studios)
“When we hear the name ‘Bobbitt,’ we think of one of the most sensational incidents to ever be catapulted into a full-blown media spectacle,” Peele said in a release sent to Fox News. “With this project, Lorena has a platform to tell her truth as well as engage in a critical conversation about gender dynamics, abuse, and her demand for justice. This is Lorena’s story and we’re honored to help her tell it.”
As for Bobbitt, Rolling Stone reported that since 2014, he has lived on disability after breaking his neck in a car accident. Most recently, Bobbitt appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show,” where he described being suicidal after being mutilated.
“The thing is, my story was told many different ways,” he said. “But it was never told accurately, thoroughly from beginning to end. … The truth of the story, anybody can figure it out.”
“Lorena” will be available for streaming on Amazon Feb. 15. “Lorena Bobbitt: What Happened?” airs Feb. 15 at 8 P.M. on Reelz.
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