Jackass Forever just can’t seem to escape its controversy. The film is now playing in theaters, and with the release comes the unveiling of several stunts involving animals. This has gotten PETA to renew their efforts of having a criminal investigation launched into the cast and crew of Jackass Forever for allegedly violating animal cruelty laws.
Per TMZ, PETA’s issues with Jackass Forever include having a spider “provoked” into biting an actor’s chest; a turtle “harassed and goaded” to bite an actor in the groin; a snake “harangued and provoked” into biting someone else’s nose; a tarantula “trapped” in a tube for the sake of a stunt; a scorpion being placed in someone’s mouth and hit until it stung; and a bull “deliberately agitated” into charging Johnny Knoxville, a stunt which severely injured the Jackass star.
PETA, an acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also cites one particular stunt in Jackass Forever involving honeybees. They claim Knoxville and Steve-O provoked honeybees into stinging Steve-O in the groin, killing many of the bees in the process. It’s all led to PETA sending letters to the L.A. City Attorney and San Luis Obispo County D.A., urging them to take legal action against the production.
“If Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville want to make a career out of nasty little boy fantasies, they’re entitled to, as long as they don’t stress, harm, poke, prod, scare, or bother animals who are used as living props for their idiocy,” says PETA Senior VP Lisa Lange. “PETA is reminding city and county prosecutors that no one is above the law and that while the rest of the world wants to save bees and recognizes animals as sentient individuals, these jackasses exploit and abuse them for fun.”
PETA Has Been Calling or Action Against the Jackass Forever Team for Months
Paramount Pictures / MTV Films
Back in September, PETA similarly called for a criminal probe into Jackass Forever after the trailer was released. Footage in the trailer revealed a sneak peek at some of the stunts involving animals, such as the bull and the tarantula, and PETA issued a statement insisting that the authorities look into the film and take appropriate legal action. The organization has now doubled down with the film’s release unveiling more footage that involves animals, and now PETA feels there’s sufficient evidence to warrant criminal charges.
“PETA’s attention has been drawn to the production of the upcoming Paramount Pictures movie, filmed in Los Angeles County, the trailer for which shows Johnny Knoxville being charged by a bull, Sean McInerney being bitten on the nose by a snake, and a tarantula trapped in a plastic tube between Ehren McGhehey and Compston Wilson’s heads,” the org stated at the time. “PETA notes that these activities appear to violate California’s prohibitions on bullfighting and similar exhibitions, causing any animal to fight with a human, and cruelty to animals - and that other acts of cruelty may well have been committed on set without making it into the trailer or the film’s final cut.”
Jackass Forever is currently playing in theaters, where it’s pulling in high profits and scoring high on Rotten Tomatoes.
