How Johnny Knoxville Had Steve O Committed



How did these skanky guys ever become famous? American soft power was never more compromised as when the scatological Jackass Number Two was the number one movie in the country (Jackass #1 had $75,466,905 worldwide gross on a $5 million budget; Jackass 2 a $83,578,712 on an $11 million budget). It ought to have been a national security issue because the fact that Johnny Knoxville and the massively illiterate Steve O were actual celebrities -- A-Listers -- fed the arguments of any enemy of the United States of America. Further, our whole sordid inamorata with Viva La Bam, Wild Boys and the jackass crew eroded American goodwill around the globe and made us look trailer trashy. We cannot fail to note that Steve O, whom words often fail, urinated on the red carpet at the premiere of Jackass 2.

But America is essentially a good country. We correct ourselves over our its errors. The Jackass crew are now essentially, rightfully one-night-stands of American pop culture. And, luckily we wore protection. Still, we are kind of curious as to where it all ends for the boys. Do that low-attention span crew die horrible deaths performing stunts for shits and giggles? Do they retire to the trailer? Are their broken, arthritic bodies propped up on E! True Hollywood Stories in a few years? Do they do porn? What?

Knoxville, the ringleader, came onto the Howard Stern Show to catch us up on what's what:

"Johnny Knoxville stopped by to promote his new MTV show, 'Nitro Circus,' and Howard told him he looked good - much better than the last time he came in (right after 'Jackass 2' had wrapped). Howard asked how Steve-O was doing, so Johnny said: 'Fine! He's been clean and sober since after we had him in 51-50'd...he's done amazing.' Johnny told the crew that toward the end, Steve-O was doing a whole laundry list (including hundreds of Whip-it canisters) of drugs every day.

"Johnny added that he had an easier time getting Steve-O into rehab than he thought the show would with Artie: 'You better have some big dudes with you.' Howard asked how Johnny had succeeded in getting Steve to rehab, so he explained that a bunch of Steve's friends decided to help - the last straw was Steve threatening to jump a mini-motorcycle from his apartment window onto the roof next door: 'We got 7 or 8 or 9 big guys...I took the camera from him and said, You're going and we're taking you."

Of course it ends in an intervention and forcible commitment. Did they ever realize, one wonders, how truly meaningful the name that they chose for their little enterprise -- "Jackass" -- truly was?