Tonya Harding’s ex, Jeff Gillooly, jokes on Facebook

His last name became firmly entrenched in pop culture following the figure skating scandal that shocked the world. In 1994, Jeff Gillooly – the ex-husband of Olympic contender Tonya Harding – conspired with her body guard to hire a man to injure the knee of her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. A melee ensued, on television, as the assailant smashed Kerrigan’s leg with a police baton, fled in a blind panic and left Kerrigan wailing ‘Why’ on the floor.

Gillooly’s name was about to enter the public lexicon – with meanings that were far from flattering. To ‘gillooly,’ as a verb, meant to ‘kneecap;’ ‘gillooly’ as a noun meant, according to Urban Dictionary, ‘anything that is incredibly ill-conceived, mismanaged, incompetently handled or poorly executed. Synonyms might be clumsy, bungling, inept, amateurish or bush-leagued.’

The Oregon native with a trademark mustache, who was sentenced to two years in prison after the 26-year-old pleaded guilty to racketeering for his role in the attack, changed his surname to Stone when he got out – unsurprisingly, really. But his name has soared back into the public consciousness with the release of the movie I, Tonya, which is currently in theaters across the country – starring Sebastian Stan as Gillooly, himself.

The movie has earned $14million at the box office, and actress Allison Janney – who plays Harding’s mother – has already won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for her performance. The film has been nominated for three Oscars, with Janney nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Australian actress Margot Robbie, who plays Harding, nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Judging from social media, Gillooly/Stone is taking it all in his stride, even joking about the attack on Kerrigan which landed him in jail (though he has since removed a few Facebook posts from public view).

On November 4, the 49-year-old posted a trailer for the movie which garnered 10 likes from his 116 friends. In the comments, responding to a Facebook friend who asked whether he was aware the Steven Rogers-written film was being made, he wrote: ‘Oh yes. He has been working on it the last couple years. Sebastian Stan and I had dinner and drinks at Oba last December. It was a lot of fun and I think he did a pretty good job with my mannerisms. Even the ones I’m self conscious of.’

Harding insisted she had no prior knowledge of the attack, though she later pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder prosecution of the attackers

In September, Gillooly – who changed his last name to Stone when he got out of prison – posted a photo that poked fun at the assault on Kerrigan

Stone, who is now 49, no longer sports his trademark mustache and lives in Clackamas, Oregon with his third wife, Christy, pictured

His Facebook friend joked: ‘You self conscious.. no way.’ 

She continued: ‘I can’t wait to see it. I hope you get some sort of kick back. So you’ve seen it already? Did they make you look like more of an A-hole then (sic) you actually were? I mean that in the nicest way. Bcz the Jeff I know was always very kind and caring. No where near the bad guy I’ve seen on TV.’

Stone wrote: ‘It’s a movie. Looks pretty funny. I haven’t see it. I think I will get a copy before it comes out.’

It wasn’t the first time Stone mentioned the film – or the scandal – on social media, however. In September, he shared a photo depicting a smiling Harding and Kerrigan sitting next to each other, the image emblazoned with the words ‘BACK WHEN “TAKING A KNEE” MEANT TAKING A KNEE.’

Thirteen Facebook friends liked the post and responded with laughter emojis in the comments, with one woman writing: ‘I have been seeing this glad you have a sense of humor’ and one man commenting: ‘Funny glad you find humor Jeff you are doing well for yourself buddy.’ The final comment on the thread, however, was a bit less positive: ‘You’re a ass.’ 

Hit man Shane Stant bashed Kerrigan’s knee with a police baton after a practice session at the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit; in an infamous scene that would set off a media frenzy, Kerrigan collapsed, wailing ‘Why?’

Stone shared an Instagram post showing actor Sebastian Stan in character as himself, wearing Gillooly’s famous mustache

Stone and friends commented on the appearance of the actor, who met Harding’s ex-husband for dinner and drinks

Stone, left, wrote that he thought actor Sebastian Stan, right, ‘did a pretty good job with my mannerisms; Stan said in an interview that, after meeting Stone, he left believing that Stone ‘really loved’ Harding

And earlier last year, on February 2, 2017, Stone shared Sebastian Stan’s Instagram post showing the actor dressed in character as himself, mustache and all.

His Facebook friend Justin Rytel commented: ‘Your stash was waaay more better,’ while Stone wrote: ‘I find myself oddly attracted to this man.’

Multiple attempts by DailyMail.com to contact Stone were unsuccessful.

Stan has also described his meeting with Stone in connection with the new film. The actor told Entertainment Weekly: ‘He picked the restaurant, so we went there, we sat down, and the first thing he said to me was, “So … why would anyone want to do this?” Like, “why would you want to do this? Why would you want to be in this movie?” 

‘I was like, “Oh! Well, uhh, you know, the script was really great, and it’s such a wild story,” and then I remember him saying something like, “Yeah, but no one’s ever gonna want to see this. No one’s every gonna pay attention … I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t knooooooow!”

In a September interview with Screen Crush, Stan said the meeting with his real-life counterpart helped him ‘to really start piecing together some things.’

‘Just little things,’ Stan said. ‘Mannerisms, the way he laughed, the way he said things. The fact that I really walked away believing that he really loved her … I still saw someone who was looking back in the past wondering, “Wow, what happened?” It’s kind of tragic, if you think about it. For all of them because the 90s were so much about 15 minutes of fame.’  

On November 4, 2017, Stone shared the trailer for the film I, Tonya, which is currently in theaters nationwide

Replying to friends, Stan casually discussed the new movie, in which his character plays a major part – and said the film ‘looks pretty funny’

Harding is played in I, Tonya by Australian actress Margot Robbie, pictured in the new movie

Harding, who is remarried with a son, attends the 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 7 at the Beverly Hilton  Hotel

Gillooly, who was married to Harding from 1990 to 1993, concocted the scheme to knock Kerrigan out of the competition with his ex-wife’s bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt. They hired a man named Shane Stant to attack Kerrigan after a practice session at the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. All three men, as well as getaway driver Derrick Smith, served time in prison for the attack.

Kerrigan recovered in time to compete at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, where she won a silver medal. Harding claimed a lace on her skate broke during her own Olympic performance and tearfully glided over to ask the ref for a re-skate, which she was allowed. She finished in eighth place.

Harding maintains to this day that she did not have knowledge of the attack beforehand – but she pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder prosecution of the attackers and was given three years’ probation, 500 hours of community service and a six-figure fine. The United States Figure Skating Association also stripped her of her 1994 US Championships title and banned her for life. 

Harding maintains to this day that she did not have knowledge of the attack beforehand – but she pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder prosecution of the attackers and was given three years’ probation, 500 hours of community service and a six-figure fine. The United States Figure Skating Association also stripped her of her 1994 US Championships title and banned her for life. 

Following the scandal, Harding and Gillooly capitalized upon their infamy, selling a sex tape of them together and stills from it to Penthouse magazine.

Her ex-husband, now Stone, currently lives in Clackamas, Oregon with his third wife, nurse Christy Novasio. He no longer sports his trademark mustache, but his post-prison life has not exactly been drama-free. He’s been arrested on charges of assault, DUI and driving with a suspended license, and his personal life has been plagued by problems, too. He declared bankruptcy and has been sued more than ten times, and his ex-wife, Nancy Sharkey, committed suicide in 2005 by jumping headlong from a third-floor fire escape at a rehab clinic. Their two children were just five and seven years old at the time.

In a 2013 Deadspin interview, Stone spoke about the lasting impact his role in the attack has had on his life and his family.

‘The most common question I’m ever asked, if it comes up, “Do you regret what you did?”’ he said. ‘I guess that’s kind of a yes-and-no question. Yes, it was pretty darn stupid. It was pretty ridiculous. But in the same instance, I’m a big believer in how you lay out your life and how each step you take, each opportunity you use – whether for good or for bad – kind of leads you down the road. I’m real happy with my life, I’m real happy with the way it’s turned out. I’ve got two beautiful kids with my ex-wife and I’ve got a lot of good friends. What’s there to regret? Not much. 

Harding, left, and Kerrigan, right, pass each other during a practice session; they were rivals but not on bad terms before the attack that injured Kerrigan’s knee

Harding was involved in further drama during her 1994 Olympic performance when she claimed a lace on her skate broke and tearfully glided over to ask the ref for a re-skate, which she was allowed. She finished in eighth place

Harding, center, is pictured on the podium during the 1991 US Figure Skating Championships with Kristi Yamaguchi, left, and Nancy Kerrigan, right

In a 2013 interview, Stone, pictured with his wife, nurse Christy Novasio, said his involvement in the attack was ‘pretty darn stupid’ and ‘pretty ridiculous’ but there was ‘not much’ to regret because he was happy with his family, his friends and his life

‘The other one is, “What do your kids think about this?” There are two things that have come up with my kids. The first one, when Haley was very young, and we were at a PTA meeting and a gal came up to me and said, “Are you Jeff?” and I said, “Yeha, I’m Jeff.” And she said, “Are you Jeff Gillooly?” And I said, “Yep, yeah, I’m Jeff Gillooly.” And she said, “I don’t mean to be rude. But does that embarrass you?” “No, it doesn’t embarrass me.” And then she finally came up with the question she wanted to ask me and she said, “What if your daughter wants to be a figure skater?” And I told her, “Well, I guess I’ll make sure she wins.” That’s the only time I’ve had a Being Jeff Gillooly [moment].

‘Then my daughter in high school, there was a question for extra credit that was, “Back in ’94, who was Tonya Harding’s husband?” And she raised her hand and said, “Jeff Gillooly.” And the big bonus question: “What did he change his name to?” And she said, “Stone.” And [the teacher] said: “How do you know that?” And she said, “Because it’s my dad.” That was kind of funny.’

He and Harding, who is also remarried with a son, are no longer in regular contact. He insists that his ex-wife knew about the plot to torpedo Kerrigan.

‘She’s a very unhappy person, from what I can tell,’ he told Deadspin. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her in 20 years but I occasionally see her on television and I kind of see – I’ve read some stories in the paper about what her personal life has become and the trouble she’s got there, and it’s just sad to me. And that’s probably, if I had one real regret, we rode her career. We absolutely rode her career. She was the best figure skater – women’s figure skater – that ever lived. Still is, in my opinion. We decided to do something really stupid there, and it ruined her. She’ll never be remembered for how wonderful a figure skater she was.

‘She’ll be remembered for what I talked her into doing.’