The Jackass Stunt That Had Johnny Knoxville Struggling With Vertigo
For over two decades, "Jackass" has provided us with a countless list of activities to never, ever try. After gaining attention from recorded stunt videos, Johnny Knoxville and friends suddenly found the stars spinning around their banged-up heads, aligning to hand them a TV series deal at MTV. That was all these daredevil-party-animals needed to begin their long, obviously bumpy, ride to stardom. Fans have since been treated to several spin-off series and four future films, each more hilariously shocking than the last.
And with all these series and films, it should come as no surprise that "Jackass" cast members have sustained countless injuries. For example, fan-favorite Steve-O has been bashed in the face so many times, cosmetic reconstruction has allowed him to showcase four separate sets of teeth in each one of the feature films. In the early days of the TV show, Bam Margera endured a cringe-worthy wheelbarrow crash, crushing his tailbone.
However, if there's one seemingly consistent quality of these thrill-seeking lunatics, it's that they always seem to recover from their injuries. Aside from outside incidents, the cast has, for the most part, returned movie after movie. Unfortunately for some of the boys, some consequences of the job have ended up leaving permanent issues, which most people don't even know exist.
Butterbean delivered permanent damage
With the testosterone-fueled popularity of "Jackass" taking off from the start, the daring cast needed to continuously one-up previous stunts in order to prove that they weren't dropping from relevance anytime soon. Of course, that meant putting their own bodies at more risk as time went on. For Johnny Knoxville, a stunt with then-boxing favorite Butterbean (Eric Esch) in the first "Jackass" movie resulted in vertigo.
Sportscasting reports that the power-swinging boxer racked up 77 victories in his career, most of which came via devastating knockout. Popularity landed him a segment opposite Johnny Knoxville in the first "Jackass" film. GQ heard from Knoxville himself that the stunt's layout was simply him going toe to toe, in the ring, with Butterbean. However, the bruiser was told not going to hold back with his punches. Knoxville somehow remembers telling Butterbean, "I need you to go full speed." Butterbean replied, "You don't gotta beg me."
And full speed was exactly what Butterbean did, landing devastating blows to Knoxville's head. Within seconds, the "Jackass" leader laid unconscious, twitching on the ground. Little did anyone know, Butterbean had delivered some permanent damage.
"I got vertigo after that, along with the concussion," Knoxville said. And even though that stunt was shot over 20 years ago, the condition has made everyday things, such as driving, more challenging. Knoxville explained, "So when I drive around corners, I would just start to get the spins." Although, in true "Jackass" form, it seems like nothing will stop these guys from living their lives. When asked if he stopped driving, Knoxville replied, "No, I just drive slower."