A "Jackass" creator who says he was illegally fired from the franchise's fourth film is suing to stop the October release of "Jackass Forever."
Bam Margera, who helped create the video series that inspired the "Jackass" TV show and feature films, which he also starred in, filed a lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Paramount, co-star Johnny Knoxville, producer Spike Jonze and director Jeffrey Tremaine alleging that he was wrongfully fired and seeking millions in compensation.
Margera alleges that Knoxville, Jonze and Tremaine made an unannounced visit to a drug rehabilitation facility in 2019 and "accosted him and coerced him" into signing a "wellness agreement" that required frequent drug tests to remain involved in the franchise.
Margera, who was fired after production began for "Jackass Forever," says in his suit that he was terminated after a drug test showed he was taking prescription Adderall. "Defendants knew full well that Margera had to take Adderall to treat his attention deficit disorder. He had been on this medication for several years," the suit says.
"Margera was the only 'Jackass' co-star terminated from the franchise for taking medication that he was prescribed, in order to treat his well-documented medical conditions," the suit says.
It also says "Jackass Forever" features Margera's contributions.
Margera said in a statement through his attorney Monday: "I am pissed-off, angry, hurt, and shattered that ... the studios and producers ripped off my creativity, content, and stunts to make this movie, fired me without justification, and refuse to pay for my work; I created this franchise before any of these guys ever got involved."
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, and neither did Jonze, Knoxville or Tremaine.
Knoxville addressed the situation in an interview with GQ in May.
"I don't want to get into public back-and-forth with Bam," Knoxville said at the time. "I just want him to get better."
