Paramount has responded to the controversial lawsuit filed ahead of Jackass Forever by former series star, Bam Margera. From its earliest days, the stupid stunt franchise gave audiences the realism that they craved, with dangerous and hilarious stunts performed by a tight-knit group of friends. In fact, the unity among stars such as Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man and Margera, has arguably been a major factor in the franchise’s success to date.
Originally started by Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze, Jackass was initially nothing more than a series of tests performed by Knoxville for the long since defunct skateboard magazine, Big Brother. Having convinced Tremaine that he was willing to be tasered and even shot while wearing a bulletproof vest, Knoxville’s eagerness to push his luck began to expand and grow until an eventual deal with MTV was struck. The Jackass TV series ran for three seasons before kicking off a reign of successful feature films. But as the fourth Jackass film began production, Margera's troubling lifestyle continued to cause problems. Unable to stick to a strict contractual obligation regarding his sobriety, Margera was soon fired from Jackass Forever. Rather than accept that his substance abuse issues were causing tremendous problems for himself as well as his family and friends, Margera launched a lawsuit against Knoxville, Tremaine, Jonze, and Paramount. Among other things, the suit claims that Margera was forced to take a “cocktail of pills” from a doctor hired by Paramount and that he was fired for taking medication that was prescribed to him.
The lawsuit was initially filed on August 25th of this year, and now Paramount has hit back. As The Wrap reports, the studio has stated that Margera’s lawsuit is “riddled with lies” and is “baseless." Read Paramount's reported statement from the filing below:
“Then, with no remorse or acceptance of responsibility for the damage he was causing his former partners, friends, and himself, Margera filed this baseless, manifestly dishonest lawsuit, which threatens to enjoin the upcoming release of ‘Jackass Forever. Apparently, Margera has decided that because he blew his opportunity to be in the film, the Defendants should not be allowed to release it, and the public should not be allowed to see it. Enough is enough.”
Margera’s drug and alcohol dependency spiraled out of control shortly after the death of his best friend and former Jackass co-star, Ryan Dunn, in 2011. For family, friends and fans, this has been a painful process to endure, and despite trying to get help numerous times, Margera hasn’t been able to stay sober. Substance abuse issues are unfortunately nothing new among the Jackass cast, with Steve-O previously having come close to suicide before getting help from his friends and staying sober. It was this sort of solidarity that was employed toward Margera, but unfortunately the sobriety contract did not work.
In addition to Margera’s lawsuit against Knoxville, Jonze, Tremaine and Paramount, the 42-year-old has a restraining order against him for reportedly threatening Tremaine and his family. It is extremely unfortunate that a group of friends who have long been close and succeeded in so many ways together have now been reduced to legal battles. The release of Jackass Forever was recently pushed to February 4, 2022, but without Margera, some fans will understandably feel that Jackass isn’t quite the same anymore.
Source: The Wrap