Why Bam Margera Is In Jackass Forever Despite Being Fired

Here’s why Bam Margera still makes an appearance in Jackass Forever, despite being publicly fired from the sequel. Debuting on MTV in 2000, Jackass took pop culture by storm, arriving just in time for the rise of the internet and an overall sea change in entertainment that saw more focus on unscripted programming. At its core, Jackass was just a bunch of guys doing dangerous and/or hilarious stunts, with some gross-out material thrown in as well. It was never high art, but at its best, Jackass provided the kind of lowbrow, uncomplicated laughs that almost anyone can enjoy from time to time.

Over time, Jackass became centered around a quartet of main stars, those being frontman Johnny Knoxville, skateboarder and general adrenaline junkie Bam Margera, and the wild and uninhibited duo of Steve-O and Chris Pontius. Jackass only ran for three seasons over two years, but its impact on entertainment was felt, leading to a trilogy of movies as well, featuring even more surreal stunts than on TV. All four men turned the show into long-term careers too, with Knoxville pivoting to acting, Margera getting his own show called Viva La Bam, and Steve-O teaming up with Pontius for Wildboyz. Both spinoffs actually ran longer than Jackass itself.

It’s now been over a decade since Jackass 3-D hit theaters, and soon, Jackass Forever will attempt to see if the franchise still has life left in it. Knoxville, Margera, Steve-O, and Pontius are all back too, even with them now ranging between 42 and 50-years-old. That’s despite Bam Margera being fired from Jackass Forever in February 2021, after relapsing into alcoholism and being percieved as a liability by Paramount. He’s since publicly feuded with Knoxville and director/producer Jeff Tremaine, and even filed a lawsuit against Paramount, but he’ll still be in Jackass Forever, as the scenes he filmed prior to his firing are still going to be used.

Jackass Forever had already been filming for several months before the news came out that Bam Margera had been fired from the production, so it’s unclear exactly how much material he shot, and how much will make it into the final film. Knoxville has confirmed that Margera will appear in Jackass Forever though – alongside lots of other celebrity cameos and guest stars – and he’d certainly be in a position to know. While it might seem odd that Paramount would allow Jackass Forever to feature Margera after he was fired in such a contentious, public fashion, keeping him involved in some way does make sense.

Margera is by no means a hated figure in general, and remains popular among much of the Jackass fan base. He’s simply struggling with substance abuse issues, as so many millions of other people do on a daily basis, and all the public wants to see is Margera get healthy and back on the path to recovery. While his firing was understandable, Bam Margera will always be a signature member of the Jackass crew, and his contributions to Jackass Forever – one of the most anticipated comedies of 2022 – don’t deserve to be ignored merely due to his personal demons.

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