DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Crime

Letter From A Sorry "Jackass"

View Document

Letter From A Sorry "Jackass"

You won't find TSG slagging the new "Jackass" film, which we found rather hilarious. Our favorite scene, of course, involved the test drive of a toilet in a plumbing supply store by Dave England, one of Johnny Knoxville's sidekicks. So it's not surprising that a free spirit like England, 32, has just been sued over a "Jackass" stunt gone wrong. Wendy Linden, 35, claims in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that she was seriously hurt during the April 2002 filming of a promotional "Jackass" town hall meeting at Hollywood High School. Linden, an extra during the shoot, alleges that England catapulted himself into a lectern at which she was standing. When the podium toppled, Linden claims, she was slammed to the cement floor (Linden's teenage son watched the incident from the audience). While jurors may determine the lawsuit's merits, Linden's case can only be helped by this letter England sent her shortly after the incident. In his mea culpa, England describes himself as a "reckless animal" consumed by "feelings of shame, humiliation and guilt" over the podium stunt. If England (or MTV) thought the weepy apology would forestall a civil lawsuit, that was quite a miscalculation. And as for England's line about considering himself a "decent person and highly respectful of others," we know a toilet salesman who'd disagree. (2 pages)

More dispatches from the "Jackass" nation.

GE Boss Jack Welch getting by on social security check and other monthly income.

Prosecutors: Jayson Williams was drunk when he shot his driver.