Bam Margera Sues Over ‘Jackass Forever’ Firing
This is no prank: Bam Margera filed suit on Monday against Paramount, Spike Jonze, and Johnny Knoxville, claiming he was wrongfully fired from the upcoming Jackass Forever , the fourth film in the long-running comedy franchise.
The suit stems from Margera’s firing from the project last summer. Margera, who was a mainstay of every previous Jackass’ television series and film, claims that he was forced to sign a “Wellness Agreement” in order to participate in Jackass Forever. The suit states that “for months, Margera was obligated to complete daily drug tests, multiple times per day, both scheduled and unscheduled, requests for which could come in at any hour of the day or night. Margera was subject to countless breathalyzer and urinalysis tests, which he submitted to and passed repeatedly for several months without objection or incident.”
Margera was later fired from the film; according to the suit, his termination “stems from the fact that one of the numerous drug tests Margera was forced to submit to demonstrated that he was taking prescription Adderall,” a drug Margera says he had been prescribed by a doctor for years to treat attention deficit disorder. The suit also alleges that the creators of Jackass Forever “intended to employ Margera long enough that he would develop ideas for content, stunts and pranks featured in the movie, and then terminate him once those ideas were received, and refuse to pay him anything for his work.”
This is the latest chapter of an ugly saga that’s been unfolding since Margera’s removal from Jackass Forever became public last February. He posted angry videos about his firing to social media and called for his fans to boycott the movie. Several months ago, Jackass director Jeff Tremaine was granted a temporary restraining order against Margera, alleging that the latter had sent his family death threats.
For a franchise that has long thrived as much on the warm friendships between the stars as the outlandish pranks, these are all sad developments. Jackass Forever is currently scheduled to open in theaters on October 22, 2021. You can read Margera’s full lawsuit at Variety.