Jackass director Jeff Tremaine obtains restraining order against Bam Margera
Margera is accused of harassing Tremaine with "disturbing" messages
As prophesied by the arrival of Olivia Rodrigo, the year 2001 is upon us once again. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Jackass making headlines—especially with the fourth (and most likely final) film in the franchise arriving this fall. Unfortunately, the masochistic bros of the peak millennial MTV era aren’t making headlines for the best of reasons on this particular day. Jackass director Jeff Tremaine has been granted a permanent restraining order against former franchise star Bam Margera, who was fired from Jackass 4 over his refusal to adhere to the conditions set forth by production—including routine drug testing and participating in ongoing counseling.
Last month, Tremaine was granted a temporary protection order against Margera— the filmmaker has accused Margera of harassment via text message and social media platforms. In screenshots and documents obtained by People, Margera tells Tremaine that threats he made toward the director’s children come from “the bottom of [his] heart.” Tremaine says that the harassment began after Margera was booted off the upcoming sequel related to behavior following a relapse last summer. “I am in great fear for my and my family’s personal safety,” Tremaine stated in his petition to the court. According to another troubling allegation, Margera called a colleague and claimed “that he has ‘powers as a wizard’ and ‘can create and strike lightning’ while speaking at times using numbers instead of English.”
Margera—whose struggles with substance abuse and mental health have seemingly escalated in recent years—posted a video on Instagram back in May, in which he said Tremaine and Jackass star Johnny Knoxville “betrayed me, abandoned me, rejected me.” Co-star Stephen “Steve-O” Glover, who also notably struggled with substance abuse, responded in the comments:
Bam—the two people you’re saying wronged you [Knoxville and Tremaine] are the same two people who organized the intervention which saved my life. 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 or encourage you to stay sick.
It is truly difficult to watch someone wrestle with substance abuse and mental health, and—in this case—in such a public way that makes their struggles a spectator event that invites public comment (such as this) and opinion. Here’s to hoping Margera will eventually accept the help he needs and deserves.