Johnny Knoxville returned to his iconic Jackass franchise this year when the 2022 movie release Jackass Forever hit theaters early this year to critical and commercial success. And the prankster has definitely been back to his dangerous hijinks as of late considering Knoxville is now being sued for one of his latest elaborate jokes, which reportedly caused “emotional distress
On Friday, a suit was filed against Johnny Knoxville by the object of one of their unreleased pranks. According to documents filed by Khalil Khan in the Long Beach Superior Court, per Variety, Knoxville is being sued due to causing the plaintiff emotional distress as a result of a prank that has since led to him suffering a lack of sleep. He also says that he’s experiencing anxiety and will have to deal with “embarrassment and ridicule” due to the event.
Here’s what allegedly happened. Khan was called to a home (via TaskRabbit) to complete a routine repair job on a dimmer switch. However, when he got there, the homeowner reportedly threatened to beat him up if he didn’t do it right, claiming he knew jiu-jitsu. A few minutes later, a light in the house went out and a young girl ran in the room and accused Khan of killing her pony. The man was then led into a room where a pony was attached to a life-support machine.
That’s not all though. Following this, the plaintiff apparently noticed his car was being towed outside. Panicked, he took out his phone to call the police but was then told by one of the men in the house that if he did, he would be arrested for cocaine possession. Per the filing:
In the span of just minutes, he had been threatened with being beaten up, told he botched the repair job, accused of murdering a pony, had his car taken without his permission, and was now being told that he would be arrested for possession of illicit narcotics.
According to the lawsuit, the Jackass star arrived at the house not long after this and shared that everything that had just happened was just a prank. Khalil Khan’s lawsuit claims that Knoxville offered him a few hundred dollars for his troubles but that he was “not amused” then and “remains unamused.”
The prank was reportedly part of Johnny Knoxville’s new TV show, which is currently in the works. While it was initially believed that Jackass Forever was the final movie in the long-running franchise, Knoxville has since clarified that he isn’t done with it but might personally step down as the lead personality because his neurologist said he “can’t have any more concussions.”
Johnny Knoxville isn’t a stranger to lawsuits given that former collaborator Bam Margera — who is currently in the hospital for pneumonia — previously sued him for wrongful termination before he later dismissed it. As of this writing, Knoxville has not issued a formal response to the suit. The public can only wait and see how this latest legal situation turns out for the veteran stuntman and actor.