When Jackass 4 finally hits theaters in October, one of the founding members of the daredevil troupe will be missing after Bam Margera was fired from the movie due to a breach of contract relating to his personal issues.
The 41 year-old skateboarder and regular reality TV star has struggled with alcohol and drug abuse for a long time, and studio Paramount were reluctant to even have him return for the fourth installment in the franchise. Director Jeff Tremaine lobbied to have him aboard, but it was written into his deal that he had to remain clean and sober during production.
That obviously didn’t happen, and when Margera was ultimately let go from Jackass 4, he posted a series of worrying videos on social media where he blasted Tremaine and Johnny Knoxville in particular for betraying him and stabbing him in the back, although the good news is that he’s since sought help for his addictions.
Steve-O recently responded to his longtime friend and colleague’s accusations by revealing his thoughts that Margera’s problems are all of his own doing, with Tremaine and Knoxville only trying to get him the help he clearly needed, and you can see what he said below:
“Bam, the two people you’re saying wronged you are the same two people who organized the intervention which saved my life. Everyone bent over backwards to get you in the movie, and all you had to do was not get loaded. You’ve continued to get loaded, it’s that simple. We all love you every bit as much as we all say we do, but nobody who really loves you can enable or encourage you to stay sick.”
Steve-O is no stranger to battling demons himself, having been clean and sober for the last thirteen years after mental health, drug and alcohol issues saw him spend time in a psychiatric institution due to his excessive and prolonged addictions causing him serious physical and psychological problems. He’s in a better position than the majority of the Jackass gang to comment on what Margera’s going through, then, especially given that Tramine and Knoxville were integral to him turning his life around and putting him on the straight and narrow.
