The first episode of Jackass premiered back in 2000, so the motley crew of prankers and TV personalities have been entertaining audiences for over two decades. They’ve by and large stayed in the pop culture landscape, with Jackass Forever hitting theaters just last year. But one member of the crew, Bam Margera, has had a number of very public struggles recently. Although now Bam is claiming he’s sober, and wants to see his kid again.
Over the past few years Bam Margera has had a number of shake ups and arrests, as well as substance abuse issues. Bam's been in and out of rehab facilities, and has been in a legal battle with his wife Nikki Boyd. Bam recently spoke to TMZ outside a court in downtown L.A., where Bam shared his perspective on that custody issue. As he told the publication:
I’m doing really well. It’s just really hard being in California knowing that my son is in Burbank. And I could be hugging him in ten minutes if I want, but she ghosts my calls. It’s been months. And that’s the only hard part about anything. She really wants to paint a picture of me being armed and dangerous. And she wants Supreme Court visits. I take care of an 8 year-old named Isabelle. I live with her, I get to take her to the movies and take her to the park. But when it comes to Phoenix– I never even carried a knife or shot a gun except for Lil Xan the rapper one time. I’m not armed and dangerous. She wants to make it seem like I’m a loose cannon and she knows how to press my buttons to ghost me.
There you have it. Bam Margera claims that he’s doing much better, and seems desperate to reunite with his son Phoenix after months of having no contact. But his ex seems to be preventing that, much to his dismay. As such, the situation will likely resolve itself in court. Margera’s lawyer was with him as he spoke to TMZ, echoing many of his sentiments.
The lack of contact between Bam and his son seemingly is related to his public intoxication arrest back in March. Details about that incident began trickling out, revealing that Phoenix was reportedly present when the incident and Margera’s arrest occurred. Since then Lamar Odom offered to help the Jackass icon’s recovery via one of his treatment centers. And it sounds like he did just that, as Bam shared with TMZ:
I’m doing really well. With Lamar Odom, he wanted to take a different approach and not have me cooped up. I’ve got the Guinness book of longest Florida shuffle. If you don’t know what that is, it means that the interventionist knows that if you have money and your insurance will pay for it they’ll keep you in there as long as you possibly can. So I spent $660,000 being in there for a year and a half. And Lamar Odom knows that’s not the way to keep me locked up in a room learning that alcohol is bad and it isn’t any good. I’m very aware of that.
While Bam seemingly isn’t attending an in-patient facility, he claims that having sober people around him has helped him stay on the right track. He certainly seemed coherent in the video provided by TMZ, which will likely be a relief for his generations of fans. But if/when he’ll be able to see his kid remains to be seen.
Jackass Forever is streaming on Paramount+, although Bam Margera only appears briefly. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
