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"With this kind of comedy, people become inured to the shock value."
——Johnny Knoxville

"JACKASS" SIGNS OFF

Johnny Knoxville Pulls The Plug On MTV Show For Career In Movies, Sewage Swimming
Looks like someone else is going to have to take pepper spray in the puss for the entertainment of the masses now, because Johnny Knoxville is calling it quits.

The last original episode of MTV’s controversial and hilarious show "Jackass" aired Sunday night (8/12).

"We told [MTV] we would do specials down the road," Knoxville told the Knoxville News-Sentinel—not his own personal daily newspaper, but a paper named for the town of Knoxville. "But this is enough. We have done enough."

According to the New York Post, MTV will continue to air repeats of the 24 episodes of "Jackass" that were made, but will edit out questionable content, Knoxville said. "The most objectionable things will be taken out," he said. "All the funny things will be gone."

The show was one of MTV’s most popular and highest rated shows, seen by as many as 20 million viewers a week. But, as that pensive voice on "Behind the Music" might say, success came with a price: the scrutiny of Sen. Joseph Lieberman and other politicians. When teens began to imitate the show’s dangerous stunts—and get injured in the process—politicians really put the pressure on MTV.

As a result, MTV canceled several spin-off projects, including a book and a soundtrack, according to the Post, and the lack of promotion irritated Knoxville and the show's cast and crew. "It was frustrating for us on one hand," he said. "But, in MTV's defense, it was an extraordinary case of events, and no one really knew what the right move was. I'm sure they would have liked to have done things differently."

Knoxville said he wanted to quit while the show was still special. "With this kind of comedy, people become inured to the shock value," he said.

The show was co-created with Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich"). The three are partners in their own production company.

Knoxville, the show's star, whose real name is P.J. Clapp, will now focus on a career in movies. He’s already slated to appear in "Big Trouble," with Tim Allen, and as a two-headed alien in "Men in Black 2" next summer.

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