Jess Margera is hopeful that his estranged brother, Bam, can make a successful return to the Jackass franchise.
Earlier this month, plans for a fifth film of the beloved MTV series was announced, and it was soon confirmed that Bam Margera, who was excluded from the 2022 film, Jackass Forever, had signed a deal to appear in the new movie through never-before-seen archival footage.
Despite being one of the original cast members, Margera was axed from Jackass Forever after breaching a “wellness agreement” for allegedly testing positive for Adderall.
In a new interview with Tone Deaf, Jess, who will tour Australia with his band CKY (whose music featured heavily in the show) next week, reacted to the initial falling out and new developments.
“Bam was clearly not doing well,” the drummer said.
“Those guys gave him an ultimatum, and I think they thought they were doing the right thing, but it kind of blew up in everyone’s face.”
Margera added that his brother was also still grieving the 2011 death of fellow Jackass member and close friend Ryan Dunn.
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“I think it was too quick to return to [Jackass Forever] with his partner in crime missing. So it was definitely a rough situation,” Margera continued.
“I think time heals a lot, and hopefully this will go well. I think it will.”
Speaking to TMZ this week, Bam said he was happy for his archived footage to be used in the new film, but is not willing to return.
“I have a lot of PTSD from it all, and just having the title now of ‘ex-Jackass star Bam Margera,’ I have to live with that. The humiliation, the abandonment and just the embarrassment of it all, I had to let it go,” Margera said.
“They said, ‘We’re going to sift through a lot of old footage to try to create something new. And I said, ‘Hell yeah, go for it,’ because I remember filming so much funny shit that never made it to the movie simply because it would be too long or it’s just too gnarly.
“As far as I know, I don’t have to film anything new and I don’t want to… I’m just too hurt by it and I’ve just accepted the fact that I don’t want anything to do with it anymore. Only time will tell, but right now at this time, I don’t want to do anything.”
The fifth Jackass film is scheduled to hit cinemas on June 26th.
The Margera siblings have not been in contact since Bam was given six months probation after pleading guilty in June 2024 to an altercation at his home the previous year. It was reported that Bam assaulted Jess and made threats against other family members.
However since then, Bam has reported to be almost two years sober. Despite this, the pair are yet to reconnect.
“I don’t know [why],” Jess said. I like all his [Instagram] pictures. I like all his skating videos on Instagram and all that. I think he’s doing good and it’s good to see. And I don’t know, I guess one of us will reach out when we’re ready… You know how it is with brothers.”
Keep an eye on Tone Deaf for the full interview.
CKY Australia Tour 2026
Tickets available via www.thephoenix.au
Friday, January 23th
Max Watts, Melbourne
Saturday, January 24th
Crowbar, Sydney
Sunday, January 25th
Crowbar, Brisbane
