Jackass stunt goes wrong, Steve-O rescued after duct taping himself to a billboard

Jackass star Steve-O spent more than 90 minutes taped to a towering LA billboard, before emergency services were called in. Photo / Getty Images

Jackass star Steve-O had to be rescued by a team of firefighters when a promo stunt went spectacularly wrong this week.

The 46-year-old prankster – born Stephen Gilchrist Glover – taped himself to a Los Angeles billboard on Thursday to promote his online special Gnarly, but despite insisting on his Instagram prior that he had taken every precaution to ensure his safety, the move prompted a response from a team of firefighters.

Along with a selfie from his vantage point, the television personality had said it was "important" that no valuable city resources were "wasted" on his rescue.

View this post on Instagram

I’m attached to a billboard right now (swipe to see the whole thing) and want to emphasize that a team of real professionals rigged everything safely. There is zero chance of me falling, and it’s important to me that we not waste any valuable city resources on this. I’m happy to just hang out, and really want the world to know about this project I worked so hard on. It’s called Gnarly and, If you’re over 18, check it out at steveo.com! Thanks!

A post shared by Steve-O (@steveo) on Aug 13, 2020 at 8:48am PDT

"I'm attached to a billboard right now (swipe to see the whole thing) and want to emphasise that a team of real professionals rigged everything safely," he wrote, adding: "There is zero chance of me falling, and it's important to me that we not waste any valuable city resources on this."

The LAFD were called out to respond later that day, with a video on CBS Los Angeles showing the star being removed from the sign.

In an alert from the LAFD, it was revealed 21 responders were dispatched to the scene, labelled "an apparent behavioural emergency".

Steve-O did not require hospital transport by ambulance.

Shortly before the response, the actor-comedian had shared a video on his Instagram Story to chronicle his experience.

"Hey everybody, so I've been up on this billboard, duct-taped, for an hour and a half now – a little more," the comedian explained.

"Starting to get kinda sore. There are some cops over there, but they say they're not sure that I'm committing any crimes. I don't think so, I paid for the billboard, man."

He had again assured fans he was "professionally rigged" to the advertisement, so was "safe" and "happy to just hang out" in order to promote the special.

According to Fox News, local outlets reported that the Los Angeles Fire Department removed him from the billboard and he was examined by fire personnel.

The Los Angeles Police Department told Fox News they had not spoken to the star, and the Los Angeles Fire Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Steve-O was previously charged with creating a false emergency, vandalism and several fireworks violations after staging a protest on top of a crane in 2015, which resulted in a 30-day jail sentence, as well as probation and a $19,600 fine.