Johnny Knoxville addresses Bam Margera's 'Jackass 4' firing: 'I just want him to get better'

Bam Margera was fired from Jackass 4 in February due to breaking his contract put in place "because of his past substance abuse and erratic behavior," as reported by TMZ at the time, and Johnny Knoxville had not publicly commented on the matter until this GQ profile written by Sam Schube and published Tuesday (May 25).

"We want Bam to be happy and healthy and get the help he needs," Knoxville (born P.J. Clapp) said. "We tried to push that along. I think that's all I really want to say about it."

Schube provided more context:

"A few days after I had lunch with Knoxville, Margera asserted to TMZ that he'd been fired from Jackass 4 for refusing to follow through with Knoxville-mandated rehab, an experience he likened to 'torture.' (Over the phone, Margera confirmed to me that he'd been fired from the movie for breaking his contract. 'It hurts my heart,' he said, 'because I've waited 10 years for this.')"

Knoxville responded to Margera's comments to Schube by simply saying, "I don't want to get into public back-and-forth with Bam. I just want him to get better."

The Margera-specific exchange was set up by Knoxville reflecting upon the Jackass crew's individual struggles since the iconic MTV series canonized each of them to fame in the early aughts. More broadly, the 50-year-old stuntman had this to say:

"It's difficult when your friends are ... It was heartbreaking, losing Ryan [Dunn]. And it was tough when Steve-O was going off the rails. But he has completely, completely turned his life around and is doing just—I mean, he's doing terrific. He's a different, different man. ... I think each of us was responsible for his own actions. And when someone's struggling, everyone tries to help that person. And at the end of the day, that person has to want help. Sometimes they don't. Yet."

Jackass debuted on MTV in 2000 and ran for three seasons. The absurdity- and stunt-based reality series starred Knoxville, Margera, Dunn, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, and more. (Dunn died in drunk-driving accident in 2011.)

The crew reassembled for three movies, most recently 2010's Jackass 3D, and will one more time for Jackass 4.

TMZ reported shortly after Knoxville's GQ profile went live that Jeff Tremaine, who has directed and produced Jackass in all its iterations since the beginning, has filed for a restraining order against Margera.

Margera, 41, has publicly struggled with substance abuse for years, including multiple rehab stints and even a visit to Dr. Phil in September 2019.