Recent times have seen members of the Jackass family at a bit of an impasse. With Bam Margera being dropped from the currently in production Jackass 4, the fallout has left Margera on the outs, with legal actions keeping him there for the foreseeable future. Now, a recent interview has franchise star Johnny Knoxville touching upon the subject himself, in a measured but heartfelt statement.
Knoxville didn’t say much in his new sit-down with THR, but what he did say voiced his concern with Bam Margera’s recent behavior. As Margera himself is boycotting Jackass 4 over his non-involvement, the issue is still a bit of a lightning rod. Firmly keeping that in mind, here’s what Johnny Knoxville said about the subject:
We want Bam to be happy and healthy and get the help he needs. We tried to push that along. I think that’s all I really want to say about it… I don’t want to get into a public back-and-forth with Bam. I just want him to get better.
With the heat from the drama surrounding Jackass 4 being so intense, you can see why Johnny Knoxville would be delicate when it comes to discussing the matter with the press. Fresh developments in the ongoing saga of Bam Margera’s expulsion from the film saw the performer as the subject of a restraining order from series director Jeff Tremaine. This came after Margera allegedly threatened Tremaine and his family, after being kicked off the latest sequel.
In reference to why Bam Margera was even kicked off of Jackass 4 in the first place, all signs point towards a relapse that violated his contract for the upcoming Paramount sequel. Because a condition of his participation was to maintain sobriety, Margera’s failure to do so caused him to be removed from the movie he was fighting to stay a part of. Which brings us to Johnny Knoxville’s reaction to this scenario, which seems to allude to those contractual obligations, while he also speaks in a caring manner towards his colleague.
No one could have ever imagined that the production of Jackass 4 would lead to such an unfortunate turn of events. For now, all anyone can really do is move on with the show and hope that Bam Margera does in fact get the help he needs. Maybe someday the full story will be told but, for now, as far as Johnny Knoxville is concerned, his well wishes are with Margera as all he wants is for his former co-star to get better.
Jackass 4, which will apparently be Johnny Knoxville's last contribution to the franchise, has an October 22 release date, on which it will welcome its unique brand of stunts into theaters. Though, should that or any other film set to debut this year have to swap dates, the 2021 release schedule will be the place you’ll want to be to grab the latest updates.
