Jackass Star Bam Margera Is Heading to Rehab After DUI Arrest

Dare devil's mother says that the former MTV star is checking into rehab after being arrest over the weekend

By Meg Swertlow Jan 09, 2018 11:00 PMTags
Bam MargeraCharles Fox/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

Days after Bam Margera was arrested in Los Angeles after allegedly driving under the influence, the former Jackass and Viva La Bam star is heading to rehab, says his mother.

"He decided to go to rehab in LA so we're putting that program into place," his mother April told Page Six on Tuesday. "How long he stays is to be determined but he'll want to keep that private."

The concerned mother added, "He feels a lot better. He had a bad night. He's embarrassed by it. He's mad at himself for being stupid. Now he just wants to pick up the pieces and move forward for himself and for his family."

April added that she's entrusting his care to professionals and said, “Don’t be so quick to judge other people. Everybody has a different story and everybody is going through different things. It’s not an instant fix. He’s been seeing therapists. There are going to be hiccups when you’re battling addiction. You’re not going to be 100 percent successful the first time. He’s getting a handle and the upside of this thing. He’s learning as he goes."

On Monday, California Highway Patrol confirmed to E! News that the extreme prankster was arrested around 8 a.m. Sunday morning in Los Angeles county.

While he was initially pulled over due to a cell phone violation, officers noticed signs of possible intoxication and conducted a standard field sobriety test.

Officers proceeded to arrest the pro skateboarder for suspected drunk driving. The 38-year-old posted $15,000 bail and was released Sunday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. local time.

E! News has reached out to Bam's agent for comment.

photos
Best (or Worst) Mug Shots Ever

Bam's brother Jess Margera told Page Six on Monday that the family was trying to get the stunt star help.

"He's with a friend out there and we're trying to see if he wants to go to rehab or anything," said Jess. "We're trying to help him from across the country."

Just last month, Bam and his wife Nicole Boyd announced the birth of their son Phoenix Wolf on social media.

This is not the first time that the MTV star struggled with alcohol. He has openly spoken about hitting his "bottom."

"I took a five-year hiatus from skating because I had bone spurs, so instead I was making money by doing nightclub appearances, which basically was shooting photos and taking shots with the locals," he shared with People in September 2017."So I was s—tbag wasted every night, and eventually was like, 'This has to stop.' Once I woke up in my own puke and p–, I knew I had to cut it off."

"I just reached a point where drinking got really old," he added. "I just looked at the big picture, like, ‘What am I doing? I'm not doing anything, just sitting in a bar in Westchester cracking jokes with the locals.' So I stopped."

Hopefully the DUI arrest will be his last and final bottom...

Theo Wargo/WireImage

Many of his Jackass stars have battled substance abuse and drinking problems since they hit the spotlight.

Margera's former Jackass co-star Ryan Dunn died in a car crash on June 20, 2011. The wreck killed both Dunn, who was the driver, and his passenger Zachary Hartwell, a production assistant on Jackass Number Two.  

Following Dunn's death, a toxicology report showed Dunn had a blood alcohol level of 0.196%, more than twice the state's maximum legal limit of 0.08%. The police report also stated "speed may have been a contributing factor in the crash. He was believed to be driving between 132 and 140 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour." 

In 2011, Bam spoke to E! News about the horrific event and he said, "It was pretty much the worst news I've ever heard in my life."

Similarly, Johnny Knoxville has previously spoken about staging an intervention on pal Steve-O.

"We’d all had our eye on Steve-O because he’d gotten to a really bad point in doing all kinds of crazy drugs," Johnny told Access Hollywood in 2010. "But [when Steve-O’s] e-mails kind of hinted at [suicide]… I got 10 of our closest friends — big guys-- and went to his house and said, 'Steve-O, you know, we’re here to take you in to the rehab, or actually 5150 [medical hold],’ and he goes, ‘No dude, I ain’t going.'"

Johnny continued, "I said, 'Steve-O, if you don’t go I’ve instructed the guys to knock you out and then we’ll take you.' He’s like, 'OK dude, I’ll go,'"

In 2016, Steve-O spoke to Kqed Arts about being eight years sober.