Bam Margera is suing the producers of the forthcoming Jackass film, Jackass Forever, claiming his firing was a result of mental health discrimination.
As The Hollywood Reporter report, Margera filed a complaint on Monday, August 9th with Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that the film’s producers violated his civil rights by forcing him to sign a “Wellness Agreement” and subsequently firing him after a positive drug test.
In the suit, filed against Paramount Pictures, MTV Networks, Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze, Margera claims that in 2019, whilst receiving treatment at a rehab facility, Tremaine, Knoxville and Jonze “accosted him and coerced him” into signing the “Wellness Agreement.”
Margera claims that The Wellness Agreement required him to blow into a breathalyzer three times a day, submit to a urinalysis twice a week, have his hair follicles tested on a regular basis, and take medication every morning while on a FaceTime call with a doctor hired by Paramount. The suit compared Margera’s “draconian” agreement to Britney Spears’ unfurling conservatorship battle.
According to the complaint, “Margera did not slip up. He followed the provisions of the Wellness Agreement to a tee, at great personal cost. Defendants’ treatment of Margera exacerbated his mental health issues and led to suicidal thoughts. But still, Margera persevered — only to have the rug pulled out from under him.”
Margera was reportedly fired from the project after “one of the numerous drug tests Margera was forced to submit to demonstrated that he was taking prescription Adderall. Defendants knew full well that Margera had to take Adderall to treat his attention deficit disorder. He had been on this medication for several years.
“But all of this notwithstanding, and without even giving Margera an opportunity to explain, Paramount fired him.” Margera says he’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder.
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The suit claims that producers’ actions against Margera were a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, an unlawful retaliation and a wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. Margera is also suing the defendants for breaching his deal to star in Jackass Forever, and fraudulently inducing him into the agreement.
The suit claims that Jackass Forever, which is set to arrive on October 22nd, uses many of Margera’s contributions.
Bam Margera was fired from production in 2021. Following his termination, the film’s director Jeff Tremaine filed a restraining order against the star, claiming that his former collaborator had sent him and his family death threats. The court granted that Margera must stay a “minimum of 100 yards away from Jeff, his wife, and children.”
Prior to the issued restraining order, Margera had taken to Instagram to state that the Jackass members had mistreated him, amid struggling with bipolar disorder. He said, “My family – Jackass, has betrayed me, rejected me, abandoned me. Not all of them. I love all of them and they love me back.”
