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Topics: Steve-O, Jackass, Transgender, News, Celebrity
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Steve-O, Jackass, Transgender, News, Celebrity
Steve-O has opened up on why he changed his mind about having breast implants after 'the universe intervened'.
The Jackass star announced earlier this year that he planned on going under the knife and having the procedure done purely as a prank.
Speaking on the X5 Podcast back in June, Steve-O shared his plans and explained that he'd been stewing on the idea for a few years.
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"I came up with the idea a few years ago to get a boob job and just film a bunch of legitimately funny hidden camera pranks with me in disguise, in various disguises, and then revealing who I actually am, and just funny endurance stunts and whatever," he explained.
Steve-O continued: "I've been so particularly in love with that idea because the comedy, the opportunity for comedy I believe is absolutely there, and it's like the quintessential Steve-O - that level of commitment."
The prankster had planned on getting D cup breast implants, but on the day of his scheduled surgery 'the universe intervened'.
Speaking to Consequence, the 50-year-old revealed: "On the day that the scheduled surgery was supposed to happen, I was checking out at the supermarket. And the person ringing up my groceries was evidently transgender, and it struck me as a sign from the universe.
"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."
Steve-O hadn't run his initial idea past anyone in LGBTQ+ community as he knew that having the surgery was him 'just trying to get laughs'.
He'd even done some workshop shows in the run up to his surgery date and had transgender audience members who found his content funny.
"I had a number of trans people come to me after the shows to voice support for [the stunt]," Steve-O explained. "And I think some people would’ve been okay with it, and some people wouldn’t have. It would’ve been a mixed bag."
But the trans person he spoke to on the day his surgery was supposed to happen changed everything for the Jackass star.
He explained that the person they spoke to 'described how they weren’t allowed to use the bathroom at their place of work, that there were like maybe 28 states in the country that would arrest them for having an ID that said female on it'.
They also told him 'that there were politicians making concerted efforts to lock them up in internment camps'.
"It was really pretty heartbreaking, the level of oppression that was described," Steve-O admitted.
The exchange helped him realise that 'maybe it’s not all fun and games' and that his initial plans were 'flawed'.
The famous TV star concluded: "I think it’s a very valuable trait to be able to admit when you’ve got things wrong."