Jackass star Johnny Knoxville has broken his silence on Bam Margera‘s messy dispute with the rest of the cast and producers, saying “I don’t want to get into a public back-and-forth with Bam. I just want him to get better.” Knoxville sat down with GQ to discusses his life and career, including the upcoming fourth Jackass film. Margera was reportedly fired from the movie for failing to follow production sobriety guidelines regarding drug testing and breathalyzer tests, as well as taking medication as directed and seeing a psychologist.
The aforementioned comment came from a follow-up inquiry after Margera made the claims about being fired from the film. Ahead of those, during the formal interview, Knoxville spoke about his friends and castmates’ struggles throughout the years — as well as his own — and provided insight into how devastating the death of Jackass star Ryan Dunn was for the whole group. “It’s difficult when your friends are…” Knoxville began, then changing his train of thought. “It was heartbreaking, losing Ryan.”
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He then added, “And it was tough when Steve-O was going off the rails. But he has completely, completely turned his life around and is doing just—I mean, he’s doing terrific. He’s a different, different man.”
“I think each of us was responsible for his own actions,” Knoxville continued. “And when someone’s struggling, everyone tries to help that person. And at the end of the day, that person has to want help. Sometimes they don’t. Yet.”
Knoxville was asked if his comments were related to anyone specific, to which he said they were meant to reflect Margera’s struggle. “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.”
Margera has been publicly calling out his fellow former Jackass co-stars for months now, and even did so again just this week. One person who finally felt the need to speak up against the ex-pro skater was Steve-O, who issued a “tough love” kind of response to Margera. “Bam — the two people you’re saying wronged you (Knoxville and [director Jeff Tremaine]) are the same two people who organized the intervention which saved my life,” Steve-O wrote.
“Everyone bent over backward 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,” he continued. “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.” Margera has said that he is currently in Florida seeking treatment.
