PETA Calls For Criminal Investigation Into ‘Jackass Forever’ Over Animal Stunts

PETA has called for a boycott of the latest Jackass film over concerns for animals welfare.

The organisation has spoken out against the latest release of the franchise, Jackass Forever, over the film's treatment of animals.

Johnny Knoxville may have stated that 'cancel culture' will never affect Jackass, but a criminal investigation might, as PETA has also called for one to look into the production of the latest film.

Alongside objecting over scenes that included the use of a spider, turtle, snake, a tarantula and a bull, PETA has claimed the stunt involving honeybees and a scorpion are the most concerning, Deadline reports.

In the stunt with the bees, stars Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O provoke the animals into stinging Steve-O's penis, which, in turn, causes many of the honeybees to die. In another scene, the scorpion is repeatedly hit while inside someone's mouth so that it stings them.

Other stunts include the provoking of a turtle to bite a star's testicles, a spider to bite someone's chest, a snake to bite another's nose, a bull to charge at Knoxville, and a tarantula being trapped in a tube.

PETA tweeted, 'Once again, @jackassworld is celebrating animal exploitation and legitimizing the exhibitors who pimp out animals for productions. Show them that using animals for entertainment is unacceptable!'

PETA has subsequently sent letters to prosecutors in both Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo County, where the movie was filmed. The organisation alleges that the film broke state animal protection laws.

Lisa Lange, SVP of PETA, stated, '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.'

She concluded, '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.'

Members of the film and its production listed in PETA's complaint are: actors Knoxville; Steve-O (Stephen Glover); Chris Pontius; Rachel Wolfson; Compston Wilson; Ehren McGhehey; Sean McInerney; and Eric André; director Jeff Tremaine; and producer Spike Jonze.

The people who are responsible for supplying the film with the animals are also listed as: Jules Sylvester; LeRoy Steese; Christina Steese; and Tom Roach.

Jackass Forever — the fourth main instalment and fifth overall instalment in the series — hit cinemas on Friday, February 4, and has already grossed around $20 million.

If you see an animal in distress and/or in need of help, contact the RSPCA's 24-hour animal cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 or visit their website for further advice 

Topics: Jackass, Animals, Animal Cruelty

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.