Steve-O Fell Out With Johnny Knoxville Before Filming Jackass Forever
The bitter feud took place after Steve-O tried to negotiate a higher salary for himself
Jackass Forever will reunite most of the original Jackass crew for the fourth instalment in their movie franchise, set to hit UK screens next month.
However, tensions ran high when it came to negotiating pay for their newest film with studio Paramount.
According to Steve-O, negotiations turned sour when he made his bid for a higher salary, leading to a bitter falling out between himself and co-star Johnny Knoxville.
Steve-O told Variety: “I was in shock. I was in disbelief when I learned that Knoxville was trying to make a fourth Jackass movie after an entire decade of inactivity with the Jackass brand.
“The contracts have never been fun but this time around, it was even less fun.
“You know, frankly, I felt that over the last 10 years that I’d really worked extremely hard to build momentum for myself as a brand in my own right.
“Over the course of Jackass, I had never so much as countered. I never pushed back. I built myself up. I deserved more now because I worked for more.
“When my entertainment attorney says ‘OK, go for it,’ then I’m going to go for it."
As the talks dragged out, things turned nasty, and Steve-O went public about not signing his contract.
He continued: “I could have gone about it a lot more smoothly, and I didn’t.
“I blurted s*** out during interviews that was counterproductive, so that’s what really pissed off Knoxville. We had a little rift, you know?
“My lawyer finally called me up and said, ‘Hey, take it, dude. This is going to get ugly.’
"It might have gone up the smallest fraction of a number. But it did not go up in any sense for me to call it a win.
“And in hindsight, I don’t even feel bad about it, because I handled it poorly and I’ll own that. I own it with Knoxville. I own it with you. What can I say? I was an a**hole.”
Thankfully, fans can be assured that the two are best buddies again.
Steve-O said: “Since then, I gave Knoxville a call. I said, ‘Hey, I want to acknowledge the way I handled the whole contract situation - it was f***ing bullshit, man.’
“I called to acknowledge it, and just put it out there that I was wrong and wanted to make it right. It was the most healing conversation that he and I had ever had. I felt emotional about it.
“I’m not trying to kick up any mud or anything. The point is without fail, throughout the history of this franchise, as soon as we’ve gotten together in one place, there’s this unbelievable magical chemistry.
“It was not different this time. It felt more noticeable this time because I had really tried to put up that fight in the contracts.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Jackass, Steve-O, TV and Film
Abbi Murray