After unsuccessfully attempting to block the release of Jackass Forever in theaters, PETA is calling upon all filmgoers to join them in their boycott of the film. The upcoming movie, which serves as the fourth (and likely final) installment of the Jackass movie series, brings back Johnny Knoxville and the gang to carry out an array of wildly dangerous stunts. Some of them involve live animals, and this is where PETA has thrown in a flag.
The Jackass Forever team has been dealing with backlash from PETA for months, but none of it seems to have affected the film with no indication that the animal scenes will be removed. PETA has particularly shown issue with scenes showing “a snake provoked to the point of attack, a chained bear coerced into eating honey off a bound participant, a tarantula trapped in a tube between two participants’ faces, and a bull provoked into charging Johnny Knoxville, reportedly leaving him with a brain hemorrhage, among other injuries, and prompting him to swear off future life-threatening stunts.”
“Johnny Knoxville can choose to retire from dangerous stunts, but the bulls, bears, snakes, and other animals tormented for movies like Jackass Forever are the real victims who spend their entire lives facing harassment and often deprivation and harm at the hands of Hollywood trainers. Paramount Pictures should know that animal exploitation doesn’t belong on a 2022 movie screen, and PETA is calling on moviegoers to stay away from this sordid sideshow,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange.
PETA’s Issues Aren’t the Only Problems the Jackass Forever Team Is Facing
Early on into production, Jackass mainstay Bam Margera was a part of the project and had even filmed some segments to be featured in the film. That changed when he allegedly failed a drug test, violating a “wellness agreement” he’d signed with the filmmakers which led to his dismissal. Margera later lawyered up and filed a lawsuit against the studio and the filmmakers, claiming he was taken advantage of while in a fragile state of mind and is owed major profits for his ideas being used for Jackass Forever.
“I am p*ssed-off, angry, hurt, and shattered that Johnny (Knoxville), Jeff (Tremaine), Spike (Jonze) and 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,” Margera said when he filed the lawsuit. “I created this franchise before any of these guys ever got involved. My lawsuit isn’t just about compensation. It’s about treating people with mental health and addiction issues in an honest manner and not taking advantage of their disabilities to rip them off.”
Margera is actually featured briefly in the sequel, as not all of his scenes were axed prior to his firing. His name does appear in the credits as a result, though it’s unclear which scenes featuring the former Jackass star will be included in the film. We’ll all find out soon enough. Jackass Forever is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on Feb. 4, 2022.
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