'Jackass' star Steve-O says he scrapped breast implants prank after chat with trans stranger

Steve-O nearly underwent surgery for his latest prank before a last-minute "sign from the universe."

The "Jackass" star, 50, told Consequence of Sound he planned to get breast implants as a stunt and was so close to doing so that he had the surgery planned. But ultimately, he had a change of heart after a conversation with a transgender stranger at the supermarket.

"The person ringing up my groceries was evidently transgender, and it struck me as a sign from the universe," he recalled. "So I asked the transgender person if I could run something by them, and I had a conversation with this person that had a profound impact on me."

Part of the prank would have involved the comedian going to a motorcycle rally in disguise so he could get a "crazy reaction" out of motorcycle riders who were "checking me out" before realizing who he was. "I would've considered it to be better footage if I was to be beaten up at the motorcycle rally," he said.

But the person in the supermarket spoke to Steve-O about the "level of oppression" that trans people face in a "pretty heartbreaking" way, which made him realize, "Wow, maybe it's not all fun and games." After this, he feared the stunt would seem like an "exercise in celebrating violence against trans people," and he decided to call it off.

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Steve-O is known for his outrageous stunts as part of the "Jackass" series, including the original MTV show and four feature films. He originally announced plans for his breast implant prank on the X5 Podcast in July.

"I came up with the idea a few years ago to get a boob job, and film a bunch of really legitimately funny hidden camera pranks with me in various disguises, and then revealing who I actually am," he said.

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Steve-O explained at the time that he was "in love" with this idea because the "opportunity for comedy is absolutely there," and he also liked the "level of commitment" required for the prank. He said he planned to have the breast implants for about two months and had been talking with a doctor about the procedure.

"I spoke to the doctor and I said to him candidly, the one thing I'm really freaked out about and bummed out about and would back out of this over is if I'm just going to be a mess afterwards," he said. "The doctors were completely unfazed. They're like, 'Two months it comes out. Absolutely no issue.'"

He vowed on the podcast not to let people get "in my head" about the prank because he believes "in the comedy" of it, and he acknowledged feeling pressure to continue topping himself after his years of stunts. "The bar is so (expletive) high, so for me to raise it, it kind of calls for me to actually just push things too far," he said. "In the spirit of gone too far, getting a boob job (is a) nuclear move."

In the Consequence of Sound interview, Steve-O said that before calling off the prank, he felt he knew what his "intention" was, "and it wasn't to be hurtful to anybody." However, he "didn't really have any dedicated meetings or conversations with trans people, because I didn't really feel that I had to."

He went on to note he had difficulty backing away from the stunt because he had already publicly committed to it. But ultimately, he says he's glad he didn't go through with it, telling the outlet, "I think it's a very valuable trait to be able to admit when you’ve got things wrong."