Jackass star Bam Margera has confirmed that he was “basically pronounced dead” after developing seizures and contracting a blood infection.
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Speaking to his friend and co-star Steve-O on Steve-O’s Wild Ride! podcast, Margera revealed what happened during his near-death experience. He explained that Covid sent his health into a tailspin, which resulted in him suffering five seizures after which he was placed in a hospital ICU ward on life support.
“I basically was pronounced dead on Elvis’ birthday December 8,” he explained. “I did not know that I had gnarly Covid, that my body was shutting down. And, er… I went into four seizures – each one lasting 10 to 20 minutes.
“On the fourth one I bit my tongue so hard it was nearly falling off. It got so swollen and puffy that it wouldn’t fit in my mouth, and I was drinking the infected blood which gave me pneumonia [sic].”
He went on to reveal that a fifth seizure ensured that he “couldn’t breathe without a tube down my throat”, adding that he spent “eight days” unconscious in hospital. Talking about his reaction to waking up in the hospital, he said: “Dude, when they took that tube out I felt like I’d sucked on Darth Vader’s dick!”
The former pro-skater had previously alluded to the struggle he faced in this latest health setback, sharing a picture of him in the hospital ward (see above). He captioned it: “Pronounced Dead on December 8th, Elvis birthday. Life support for 10 days on pneumonia and Covid.”
Margera recovered enough to attend an Amon Amarth gig at SOMA in San Diego on December 16. The show was part of the Swedish melodic death metal band’s headlining tour in support of their latest album ‘The Great Heathen Army’.
The former MTV star completed a 12-month treatment plan for alcohol and drug abuse earlier this year. He was previously taken to rehab by police in September 2021 after an incident at a casino in Tampa Bay, Florida.
In April of this year he settled a lawsuit and asked for a case to be dismissed, after suing Jackass Forever‘s producers following his dismissal from the film over a positive drug test. An original suit saw him claim that the firing was a violation of his civil rights and alleged that it broke the terms of his contract.
Late on in 2022 Jackass‘s Johnny Knoxville expressed his wish that his former co-star Margera would “get well”.
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