Steve-O Left A Sad Note For Bam Margera On Instagram, Writing That He Can’t Save His Friend
Bam Margera has battled mental health and addiction issues for a long time. The last year has been an especially dark one for the 43-year-old Jackass star: he was in and out of court-ordered rehab, relapsed big time after being egged on by fans who mistakenly thought he was under a conservatorship and was hospitalized on a ventilator after an unfortunate pneumonia/COVID one-two punch in December. Later, Bam revealed he was pronounced dead in the hospital but managed to recover. Then, last month, Steve-O announced he’d thrown Bam a bone and hired him as the opening act for nine dates on his comedy tour. Over the last couple of weeks, both men have been posting selfies together, and things looked like they were going well. Until a couple days ago, that is. Yahoo! reports that 48-year-old Steve-O called out Bam on Instagram, revealing this his buddy is still getting loaded and won’t choose recovery. Warning: SAD.
Four nights ago, Bam posted an old picture of him, Steve-O, and Johnny Knoxville. In the caption, he said Steve-O was “a best friend who had my fucking back all along”, but referred to Johnny as “a poser” and “a pro creation thief.” He also slagged off Jackass co-creator Jeff Tremaine, calling him greedy.
Bam’s beef with Johnny and Jeff goes back to 2021, when the pair (and producer Spike Jonez) made him sign a wellness agreement to stay sober while filming Jackass Forever. Bam failed one of their required drug tests (he tested positive for Adderall) and was fired. He then proceeded to harass Johnny and Jeff on Instagram, and, in response, Jeff filed a temporary restraining order against him. Bam later sued Paramount Pictures, Johnny, Jeff, and Spike, alleging wrongful termination. They privately settled the lawsuit in April 2022.
Steve-O did not appreciate his friend coming for Johnny and Jeff on social media. So, he took to the comments to call Bam out for his actions, specifically his binge drinking and rough relationship with his 5-year-old son, Phoenix, with wife Nikki Boyd:
Bam, last night you had your five year old son with you on stage at my show, and you were blessed with the chance to spend another day or two with him — then as soon as you left my show, you stayed up all night getting loaded enough to think it was a good idea to post more vile nonsense like this. I hope you understand how awful that is.
You say you want to have a relationship with your son, but your actions guarantee the exact opposite will happen. I brought you on tour with me in hopes that I could get you to see what’s possible for you if you choose recovery. I’ve tried everything I can, but I can’t force you to get honest and do the work of recovery.
I wish you could know how much I’ve hated feeling braced for news of your death, but you’re making it clear that I have no other choice. You’re dying, brother, and it sucks that I can’t do anything to save you.
Damn. Here are both posts:
Steve-O's message to Bam Margera pic.twitter.com/cK3UZLxpKe
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 3, 2023
Steve-O struggled with cocaine and alcohol addiction until 2008, when he was involuntarily committed to a psych ward for two weeks following an intervention staged by his Jackass co-stars. He’s managed to stay sober for 15 years. Steve-O’s comment has since disappeared, but Bam still has his original Instagram post up. Meanwhile, Bam’s fans and followers have taken to the comments to encourage him to get clean. Please, Bam, choose recovery so you can go back to jumping into snake pits and getting branded on camera!
Pic: Instagram