TV personality and former pro skateboarder Bam Margera, known for the “Jackass” franchise, was hospitalized this week with complications related to COVID-19, TMZ reported on Friday.
Margera was hospitalized earlier this week with pneumonia and later tested positive for COVID-19, TMZ said in a report. He was placed on a ventilator and remained in the intensive-care unit at a San Diego hospital.
Margera has previously been open about his health issues and his addiction to alcohol, which intensified following the death of his “Jackass” co-star Ryan Dunn. Dunn died in 2011 in a DUI car crash.
“But then I just reached a point where drinking got really old,” Margera told People in 2017. “I just looked at the big picture, like, ‘What am I doing? I’m not doing anything, just sitting in a bar in Westchester cracking jokes with the locals.’ So I stopped.”
Over the last several years, Margera has been in and out of Florida rehabilitation facilities for his alcohol addiction. During a recent court-ordered stay, he fled he facility several times. He entered a new rehab program this past September, TMZ reported.
Margera was fired from the making of the 2022 film “Jackass Forever,” then filed a suit against Paramount Pictures, MTV Networks, series co-creators Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze and others, alleging he was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed so that the studios and producers could steal the movie franchise. In court filings responding to his complaint, according to a City News Service report, the plaintiffs claimed he breached his contract that required him to follow a sobriety and wellness program. They claimed he stopped mandatory testing for alcohol, ignored the treatment team, skipped drug tests and started using drugs again.
Margera later dropped the suit.
“It’s really heartbreaking,” longtime “Jackass” co-star Johnny Knoxville told Variety after Margera’s firing. “I love Bam. We all love Bam. He’s our brother, you know? You just hope that he takes it upon himself to get the help that he needs, because we all care about him a lot.”
Starting in the late 1990s, Margera found success as a pro skateboarder. His skating led to major sponsorships such as Volcom and Element Skateboards. He was featured as a playable character in the popular “Tony Hawk” video game series.
Margera’s fame grew with MTV’s “Jackass” series, a reality comedy show where cast members performed stunts and pulled pranks on each other. The series led to Bam’s own MTV spinoff, “Viva La Bam,” as well as several feature films, many of which Margera co-wrote and co-produced.
