Though Johnny Knoxville has already come out to say that the upcoming Jackass movie will indeed be his last, the behind-the-scenes drama between Jackass co-creator Jeff Tremaine and longtime star Bam Margera is underlining the point that it truly is the end of an era.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Tremaine had obtained a restraining order against Margera following what the director described as “death threats” against both himself and his family. Now it’s being made clear that the courts are clearly taking these threats seriously, as what was originally a temporary restraining order was extended to a permanent one on Tuesday—or, in the case of the courts, a full three years. Margera has been ordered to keep at least 100 yards away from Tremaine at all times.
The trouble started when Margera, who reportedly has a long history of issues related to substance abuse, was officially fired from Jackass 4 back in February. In response, Margera has been regularly airing his grievances against the Jackass cast and crew (well, some of them) via social media. In May, as Complex reported, Margera posted a video to Instagram in which he lamented:
“My family—Jackass—has betrayed me, rejected me, abandoned me. Not all of them. I love all of them and they love me back. But specifically Jeff Tremaine and Johnny Knoxville. So I feel like my family has f***ing done everything horrible to me and made me jump on hoops and walk through eggshells—which is impossible—and strung me along like a f***ing puppet to get the $5 million I usually get when I make a movie with them because Jeff Tremaine and CKY has started it.”
Fellow Jackass Steve-O (who recently celebrated 13 years of sobriety) defended his colleagues in a comment, where he noted:
“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 you or encourage you to stay sick.”
Offline, Margera has continued his harassment of Tremaine and his family, mainly via text. One of which read:
“Look at your children and grab your pocket book and write a check, if you are greedy, and cheap, look at your children again. If you don‘t sign the paper, look at your children,” one of the text messages allegedly read. “Sign your stupid f*cking contract before your [sic] not safe anywhere.”
Jackass 4 is set to be released on October 22, 2021.
(Via TMZ)