Updated

Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 25

Johnny Knoxville Ends 'Jackass' After Bull Injury Caused Brain Hemorrhage, Weeps on Final Day

Updated

Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 25

Johnny Knoxville Ends 'Jackass' After Bull Injury Caused Brain Hemorrhage, Weeps on Final Day

Q: With Knoxville stepping back, will the Jackass torch be passed to a new generation?

No. The franchise is ending rather than being handed off to a new generation. Johnny Knoxville has said “Jackass: Best and Last” is the final film, and Steve-O has echoed that it is “100 percent” the end. The key reason is Knoxville’s health: after the bull stunt injury on “Jackass Forever,” he suffered a concussion, brain hemorrhage and cognitive decline, and has said he can no longer do the bigger stunts or keep putting himself and his family through that risk. The new film reflects that shift. Knoxville largely steps back into a master-of-ceremonies role while others perform more of the physical bits, and the movie mixes new material with archival footage as a retrospective farewell. Although “Jackass Forever” introduced younger and newer performers, that was not framed as a long-term succession plan for the brand. Steve-O’s view is that without Knoxville willing to take head-impact risks, it stops being “Jackass” in the form audiences know. The ending of “Best and Last” may leave a faint emotional suggestion of reunion, but the reporting and the cast’s own comments point to finality, not a reboot. So while some newer stunt performers have appeared alongside the veterans, the evidence indicates there is no formal passing of the torch. “Jackass: Best and Last” is being presented as the closing chapter of the franchise.

Q: Is the Jackass legacy one of harmless comedy or a cautionary tale of permanent injury?

The *Jackass* legacy is both, but the stronger reading now is as a cautionary tale wrapped in comedy. Its appeal was real and unusually durable. For nearly 26 years, the franchise turned pain, absurdity and friendship into a form of slapstick that many fans saw as anarchic but not cruel. Steve-O’s point that the act was “not hateful” helps explain why *Jackass* outlasted many shock-comedy trends. The films also made serious money, with the first five grossing nearly $560 million worldwide, showing that audiences embraced it as entertainment rather than malice. But the ending of the series underscores the cost. Johnny Knoxville has said he can no longer do major stunts after the 2022 bull injury that left him with a concussion, brain hemorrhage and cognitive decline, followed by months of recovery. His decision to stop was tied not just to age, at 55, but to the risk of permanent damage and the impact on his family. That gives the franchise’s finale a different meaning: the laughs were genuine, but so were the consequences. The archival material in *Jackass: Best and Last* reinforces that tension. Some bits were previously withheld because they were too dangerous or too easily copied, including gun-related and high-impact stunts. Knoxville himself has acknowledged how many moments could have ended in death. So the legacy is not harmless comedy in any simple sense. It is a successful, often joyful comedy franchise whose final chapter makes clear that the body keeps the score.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jun 25

Johnny Knoxville, 55, broke down while calling the final wrap on “Jackass: Best and Last,” the franchise’s announced last film, due in theaters June 26.
A bull stunt on 2022’s “Jackass Forever” left him with a concussion, brain hemorrhage and cognitive decline that took six to seven months to recover from, ending his ability to do bigger stunts.
That limitation reshaped the fifth movie: Knoxville mostly hosts while others handle new gags, and the film splits its runtime between fresh material and archival footage from nearly 26 years of “Jackass.”
Steve-O said he treated the movie as an unexpected bonus after thinking the previous film was the end, while using new stunts to push middle-age health messages on prostate checks and colonoscopies.
Older footage in the film revisits how risky the franchise was—including a bulletproof-vest gun stunt—and underscores Knoxville’s view that the cast was lucky to avoid worse outcomes over the years.