He’s lit his hair on fire, snorted wasabi and gotten a tattoo while riding on a pothole-ridden desert road. When it comes to cracking up fans, Jackass’ Steve-O is willing to endure just about any amount pain.
But what the vegan stuntman won’t tolerate, though, is animal cruelty.
Before this daredevil rose to box-office fame, he attended Ringling Bros. and Bailey Clown College, where he first got inspired to advocate for animals, said PETA Vice President Lisa Lange. Moved by footage of elephants getting beaten, Steve-O eventually got involved with the animal rights organization and posed nude for its 2007 "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign.
He went vegan two years later.
Impressed with his holistic commitment to the cause, PETA granted Steve-O the “Nanci Alexander Activist Award” earlier this month at an event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“He’s healthier, happier, more content and has more energy," said Lange. “He attributes that to his vegan diet. He talks about it wherever he goes and he does it in a very accessible way.”
In choosing the recipient of the award, named for a longtime PETA supporter, the non-profit looks for someone who is “unfailingly on the animal’s side,” Lange noted. “The idea is that we can all do something—not buying fur, not attending the circus—easy things that take no time to do."
Steve-O is just one ardent PETA supporter, among many stars, who has stripped down to raise awareness for the cause. Check out our slideshow--that spans more than a decade of nude, celebrity activism.
