Talk about a low blow.
An actor has filed a lawsuit against Jackass ringleader Johnny Knoxville, TV talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel and radio personality Adam Corolla, claiming the threesome failed to pay him millions of dollars for participating in a cringe-worthy stunt, involving a mousetrap and his mangled manhood.
Perry Caravello filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging he suffered immense pain and required hospitalization last September after agreeing to the genital-snaring action during an appearance on Carolla's morning radio show to plug the 2003 cable movie Windy City Heat.
"Caravello was promised by [fellow guest] Johnny Knoxville that he would be paid $10 million if he placed his penis in a mousetrap," the lawsuit states. "He agreed to do so and, much to his emotional tranquility and to his physical harm, was severely injured when the trap literally went on his manhood." (View the complete lawsuit.)
The plaintiff asserts that he suffered further humiliation and emotional trauma when a clip of the segment surfaced on the Internet without his permission.
Caravello accuses the trio of negligence, fraud and unjust enrichment for not keeping a promise to adequately compensate him for putting his privates in such a painful predicament.
Per the complaint, Caravello entered into a contract in 2002 with Kimmel's company, Dakota North Entertainment, to star in the TV movie and promote it in return for a cut of the royalties. But Caravello contends Kimmel violated that agreement by failing to conduct a proper accounting of Windy City Heat's DVD sales and other revenue.
The cable comedy—promoted as being about "a man caught up in the glamour of being a Hollywood celebrity [who] has no idea that the production he's in is a fake—was directed by Bobcat Goldwaith and featured appearances by Kimmel and Corolla, along with Carson Daly, Dane Cook and Tammy Faye Bakker.
Caravello's suit seeks $10.5 million in general and special damages for the radio incident and alleged unpaid royalties. Reps for Knoxville, Kimmel and Carolla could not be reached for comment.
In semi-related news, Knoxville and his Jackass cohorts are due to unleash a videogame later this year in which players will be able to create their own wacky stunts and keep tabs on the injuries they've sustained. Lawyers presumably not included.