When you participate in the kinds of stunts that Jackass is known for, it’s inevitable that you’ll end up getting hurt at some point or another. Perhaps nobody is more aware of that than its main star and co-creator, Johnny Knoxville. Throughout the years Jackass has existed as both a TV show and a movie series, Knoxville has sustained his fair share of serious injuries. He’s suffered numerous broken bones and more concussions than he can count, but one particular incident had a lingering effect on him that took several years to recover from.
For the 2008 direct-to-DVD film Jackass Presents: Mat Hoffman’s Tribute to Evel Knievel, Knoxville attempted to make a dirt bike do a backflip while riding it up a hill. He never did pull the trick off because during his last try, the bike came down hard from about 20 feet in the air and nailed him right in his penis. “I broke my jim dog a number of years ago,” Knoxville told Variety in 2022. “That’s been well documented. So much has been said about so little.” The handlebars were apparently broken off from the impact as well.
A broken penis wasn’t all he got out of it, either. Knoxville also managed to tear his urethra in the process. As a result, he had to use a catheter for three-and-a-half years after sustaining the injury. “The doctor said a couple centimeters down and it would’ve been out of commission,” Knoxville revealed. “But I’ve had two children since then, so it’s in great working order. That’s too much information.”
The DVD was still released as planned despite everything that went down, and the fact that the stunt was never actually completed. The front cover even featured a picture of Knoxville lying on a hospital gurney as a gag. As is the case with his many other mishaps, he still has a good sense of humor about it when he looks back. He later decided to opt out of doing major stunts following the release of 2022’s Jackass Forever. You can check out Knoxville’s infamous 2008 crotch injury in the video below, if you dare.
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