Steve-O says Jackass Forever was 'a bummer': 'It's not fun to watch Knoxville get hit in the head anymore'
Jackass star Steve-O is reflecting on the success of the 2022 movie Jackass Forever and if it was truly worth it.
The stuntman, who has been known to perform death-defying hijinks across the popular film and television franchise, recently told NME that he considered the fourth film installment "kind of a bummer."
"It's not fun to watch Knoxville get hit in the head anymore," he explained, referring to a scene in which Johnny Knoxville was charged by a bull and subsequently suffered brain damage. "I wrote this text to the whole cast that day, thanking Knoxville for the sacrifices he's made for this team, and also begging that he stops with the brain trauma. It was one of my more serious and sincere messages."
Michael Schwartz/Getty; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic 'Jackass Forever' stars Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville
Steve-O also noted that he wasn't particularly impressed with his own stunts, including a scene in which he and pal Machine Gun Kelly were slapped into a swimming pool by a giant foam hand while riding stationary bicycles.
"I love Machine Gun Kelly," he said. "I just wish the actual stunt we had him participate in had been at a higher level."
Though it may not have met Steve-O's standards, Jackass Forever was still a commercial success, earning $80 million at the box office on its $10 million budget. The film, which hit theaters more than a decade after 2010's Jackass 3D, featured him and Knoxville — alongside fellow Jackass veterans Chris Pontius, Dave England, and more — continuing their tradition of taking on absurdly dangerous stunts and suffering some brutal injuries along the way.
Knoxville previously confirmed to EW that his bull-running days are officially over after his encounter with the movie's bull, Pecker Wrecker, who left him hospitalized with a concussion, brain hemorrhage, a broken wrist, and a broken rib.
"Every time [the bulls] destroy me, I love it. God help me, I love it," Knoxville said. "They've been so good to me, bulls. They've been so good to our franchise. They're really selfless — they just want to get you good footage, no matter the cost. They're not thinking about themselves, they're just thinking about that idiot standing in front of them. They just hate anything that moves. If it's moving, they want to make it stop moving forever. So for that, we bless them."
He added, "I'm really sad that I'm never going to get to get in the ring with one again."
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