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Steve-O admits ‘Jackass’ was a “bad influence” on kids.

The hit MTV series – which later became a film franchise – saw the 48-year-old star and his fellow cast members, including Bam Margera, Johnny Knoxville, the late Ryan Dunn, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy and Dave England, carry out daring stunts and pranks on each other or the public.

It ran for three seasons between 2000 and 2001, and had a number of spin-offs, including ‘Viva La Bam’, ‘Homewrecker’ and ‘Dr. Steve-O’, plus several movies.

And Steve-O has confessed that they were “genuinely worth vilifying” for encouraging a generation of viewers to do their own pranks and wind up in hospital.

Speaking on the ‘Hotboxin with Mike Tyson’ podcast, he said: “We were genuinely worth vilifying because back then they didn’t have YouTube or video on the Internet and we were legitimately a bad influence.

“When ‘Jackass’ came out, little kids were showing up in hospitals all over the country and maybe the world because they saw us doing this crazy s*** and they wanted to do it themselves.”

These days, pranks are a big business on the likes of YouTube and TikTok, so Steve-O says they can no longer take the blame.

The stand-up comic added: “At that time, you could really point to us as being a bad influence.

“But I think over the years because now that there’s so much YouTube, [MTV’s], so much, it’s not our f****** fault anymore.”

The latest film in the franchise is ‘Jackass Forever’, which was released earlier this year.

The film stars original members Johnny, Steve-O, Dave England, Wee Man, Danger Ehren, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, plus newcomers and celebrity guests.

Leftover footage from the film was used in Netflix’s ‘Jackass 4.5’.

What’s more, a new series is in the works for Paramount+ following the box office success of the latest film, which grossed more than $80 million worldwide.

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish said last month: “Based off the success of ‘Jackass Forever,’ we’re working with the creators to continue the partnership with a new series, bringing even more ridiculous antics straight to Paramount+.”