Bam Margera On Frightening COVID Battle: I Was 'Basically Pronounced Dead'

Former “Jackass” star Bam Margera said he was “basically pronounced dead” during hospital treatment for COVID about a month ago. 

On longtime collaborator Steve-O’s “Wild Ride!” podcast on Thursday, Margera recounted what he called a “gnarly” bout with the virus in December. (Watch below.)

“I was basically pronounced dead on Elvis’ birthday, Dec. 8,” said Margera, who said he spent eight days in the hospital.

He continued: “My body was shutting down and I went into four seizures, each one lasting 10 to 20 minutes. And on the fourth one, I bit my tongue so hard it was nearly falling off.”

He said his tongue got so swollen and puffy that it eventually wouldn’t fit in his mouth.

“And I was drinking the infected blood, which gave me pneumonia, as well,” he explained.

“So when the shaman took me to the hospital, I went into my fifth seizure, and I couldn’t breathe without a tube down my throat.”

Margera said he “blacked out” during the hospital stay. He told Steve-O that he believed he was there for a couple hours, but woke up five days later.

Margera, 43, who once starred with Steve-O in the MTV hit “Jackass,” has faced other health struggles in recent years, including alcoholism that apparently fueled rifts with those behind “Jackass.”

Margera was dropped from taking part in the 2022 movie “Jackass Forever” after he broke an agreement in his contract to remain sober.

He settled a lawsuit against “Jackass” co-creators Jeffrey Tremaine, Spike Jonze and Johnny Knoxville, along with Paramount Pictures and others, after he claimed the agreement was “psychological torture, with so many conditions it was impossible to comply,” TMZ reported.

Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.