Onlookers were stunned when Brad Pitt was seemingly abducted right before their eyes.
In early 2002, the star of Fight Club, Brad Pitt, was casually waiting in line at Pink’s Hot Dogs in Los Angeles, California, when a large black van suddenly appeared.
The van’s driver began taunting Pitt, and shortly after, a group of men exited the van, forcibly grabbing the actor and pushing him inside.
Despite attempts from bystanders to assist the Hollywood icon, the group managed to whisk him away successfully in the van.
Footage of the startling event revealed that many witnesses quickly dialed 911, but the authorities dismissed all of their calls.
The reason? It was all an elaborate prank that Pitt was in on. And the masterminds behind it? The team from Jackass.
Pitt was aware of the plan, as were the police. The Jackass crew, including Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O, coordinated with the cops beforehand to ensure they would ignore any emergency calls about Pitt’s supposed abduction.
A clip of this moment from the popular 2000s show has recently resurfaced on Twitter, leaving viewers astonished as they watch it play out.
“Imagine a citizen carrying a firearm and trying to help,” one viewer remarked.
“It was a crazy time back in the day pulling those pranks,” commented another.
Easily one of the best JACKASS episodes was when Brad Pitt joined the fellas so they could fake kidnap him in Hollywood (2002) This bit was such an insane thing to do in front of random pedestrians, with Pitt legit screaming and fighting to get free 😅 pic.twitter.com/GnCnZvDIlK
— Todd Spence (@Todd_Spence) December 29, 2025
In agreement, someone else noted: “Times, they were different back then.”
Some recalled seeing the ‘abduction’ during the original airing of the Jackass episode more than two decades ago.
“I remember when it aired – it’s somehow more funny now than it was then,” one person shared.
Another added: “This was then – and probably still is now – the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
In a video shared earlier this year on Facebook, Jackass star Steve-O reminisced about the memorable stunt.
“You would not believe how much crazy stuff I’ve done with super famous people,” he said.
“Like Brad Pitt,” Steve-O continued. “We straight up kidnapped his ass off the sidewalk in front of a bunch of people and it was okay because we planned it ahead of time with the cops who knew to disregard 911 calls about Brad Pitt being kidnapped.”
Chris Pontius, another Jackass member, has also spoken in recent years about the legendary prank, calling it ‘one of the best bits ever’ on the show.