JACKASS SHENANIGANS BROKE BONES, MANGLED BODIES OF CAST MEMBERS
Ok, disclaimer: I never really watched Jackass. But most of my friends did! So inevitably, I ended up seeing vids posted online of some their ridiculous and dangerous shenanigans. The show was violent, to say the least. These fools literally tortured themselves and each other to make a spectacle. Which they did very well! But all of that stuff can take a toll. And considering the things they did, the cast suffered many serious injuries. Jamming stuff up your ass isn’t good. Mangling your balls: not good. Rampaging bulls goring you: not good! The list of this stuff is long and painful. But the idea that youth is immortal only exists when you are young. Then reality sets in with total inevitability. Just ask Johnny Knoxville’s back, which is now toast.
ONE CAST MEMBER HAD 25 SURGERIES FROM SHOW INJURIES
Recent interviews looking at the cast and how they are doing today paints a brutal picture of cause and effect. Ehren McGehey said that he had 25 different surgeries from his show injuries. Nine knee surgeries is nuts for one person. How about breaking your back three times? Ehren did. But he also noted that that was the only way to get on TV. Well, that worked, at least.
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SHENANIGANS WERE ALL ABOUT GETTING ON TELEVISION
“We were all kind of competing for that time [on TV]. There were some things that I obviously didn’t want to do — like I don’t know any human being that would want to be chased by bulls or be blindfolded — that sucks — or drink [their] own pee. Those things are what people remember and it makes people laugh and that was the whole point of it,” Ehren said. The point was, people could laugh and cringe from a safe distance. And then change the channel when the show was over.
MANY CAST MEMBERS BATTLE DRUG ADDICTION, ALCOHOLISM
Another cast member was Chris Raab. He had to leave the show because of his addiction to alcohol and pain pills. His addiction was a direct result of injuries he sustained for Jackass. “If you got hurt, you were like, ‘Oh, I can just take a pill for that,’” he told media. “And you justify it’s a painkiller, I’m in pain. I broke my ankle. I need this. And then you justify it to yourself if you broke your arm, you’d need [another painkiller] too. And before you know it, you’re just so caught up in it.” Can anyone be surprised by this? It sounds awful. Jerry Lewis had nothing on these guys.
PEOPLE CAN’T LIVE IN VIDEO GAME FANTASY LIKE JACKASS CAST
Next we’ll talk about cast member Bam Margara. Police arrested Bam recently for DUI. But Bam has battled alcohomism since 2011. That was the year his Jackass co-star and lifelong friend Ryan Dunn died horrifically in his own DUI. Ehren capped it off with perfect hindsight for us all. “[With] the way that we live as humans now with sports and stuff we do, it’s almost like people live like it’s a video game. I’m here to tell you it’s not. You only get one body. Take care of it.” So now, there’s at least one word of wisdom to come out of the show Jackass. But it’s just too bad it came at such a cost from so many damaging shenanigans.
