Johnny Knoxville expressed well wishes for his former “Jackass” co-star Bam Margera, who reportedly left rehab multiple times this year.
Margera named Knoxville in a lawsuit last year, claiming he was wrongfully terminated from the latest “Jackass” movie, before dropping the suit in April.
“It boils down to: I love Bam,” Knoxville told Variety in an interview published Wednesday. “I know that a lot has happened. I just want him to get well for himself and his family. I love the guy, and I want him to get well and stay well.”
Knoxville, who co-created the “Jackass” franchise that began with a stunt-and-prank MTV show more than two decades ago, says he last spoke with Margera about a year and a half ago.
In June, Margera was in and out of his court-ordered treatment program at a Florida sober-living center, according to TMZ. He reportedly then left rehab in September and was spotted at a bar in Sarasota, Fla.
Margera’s legal team alleged in the 2021 lawsuit that the “Jackass” creators required him to come to a “Wellness Agreement,” and claimed his firing took place after a drug test “demonstrated that he was taking prescription Adderall.”
The film at the center of the complaint, “Jackass Forever,” premiered in February. Knoxville wouldn’t commit to the possibility of Margera one day returning to the movie and TV franchise.
“I think that would be a discussion,” Knoxville said. “I only want him to get better. That’s the first step. He has to take that step and maintain that step, because everything else is just gravy. ‘Jackass’ is not important when you’re talking about someone’s life.”