Steve-O has expressed his opinion on why a female version of Jackass might not succeed.
Over the past 25 years, MTV introduced us to the iconic show Jackass, featuring memorable personalities like Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Wee Man, Preston, and Steve-O, among others.
The series revolved around performing painful and embarrassing stunts and pranks on each other. Some unforgettable segments include ‘Toro Totter’, where the crew tried (and often failed) to avoid a charging bull while on a seesaw, and ‘Poo Cocktail Supreme’, which saw Steve-O being launched into the sky in a port-a-loo.
In another particularly amusing episode, Margera famously played pranks on his own parents, such as setting off fireworks while his father was asleep, a signature move that earned him his own spin-off show, Viva La Bam.
The series is defined by its daring and often inappropriate pranks, stunts, and humor, setting it apart from typical reality TV shows.
According to Steve-O, whose real name is Stephen Gilchrist Glover, the success of the show is linked to its all-male ensemble, and he dismissed the idea of a female version of the show.
During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, the 51-year-old shared his thoughts: “Sometimes people want to make like a female version of Jackass where girls do like terrible s*** and hurt themselves on purpose and that’s just never going to work.
“It boils down to a hormonal thing because like men with testosterone, the idea is that you know, we’re the providers and we’re supposed to be like macho and prove that we’re tough and so it becomes funny to see a guy fail and get hurt, like that’s funny,” he continued. “But with women, they’re maternal, they’re nurturers, so it’s not cool to see them get hurt.”
Fans of the show might not recall that Jackass originally included a female cast member.
Stephanie Hodge played a significant role in the initial seasons, being the first stuntwoman on the show. She formed a friendship with Knoxville and other cast members long before Jackass was conceived.
When approached to join the show, Hodge agreed without much hesitation.
Her initial thought was, “I’ll get paid a couple of hundred bucks and nobody will see it.”
Contrary to her expectations, her participation in a boiled egg eating contest until vomiting became a historic TV moment, propelling her into the spotlight.
Unfortunately, she was also the first cast member to suffer a severe injury, leading to her departure from the show.
While attempting a stunt on a snow-covered mountain in Portland, Oregon, the cast rode down the slope using everyday items like a portable toilet and a step ladder.
Hodge and Dave England embarked on an air mattress, complete with bedding.
“They were like, ‘It would be so much funnier if it was a girl instead of a guy’ and I said ‘OK, I’ll do it’, not really realizing what that meant,” she admitted.
The attempt went disastrously wrong when they hit a snowbank, causing them to be launched into the air. Upon impact, Hodge suffered a broken back and pelvis, marking the end of her career in stunts.
After her recovery, she made a brief return to the show, appearing as a ring girl in the 2002 Jackass movie.