Most people celebrate their 50th birthdays by getting pampered at a spa or having a milestone party with loved ones. Yet stuntman and comedian Stephen Gilchrist Glover, known professionally as Steve-O, spent the first week after his birthday getting a phallus tattooed on his face by Post Malone.
“He’s a prolific face tattoo guy,” Steve-O said in a Zoom interview when asked why he chose the rapper and singer-songwriter to draw up the design. “I almost had the penis tattooed on my forehead for our last ‘Jackass’ movie, but it ended up falling through, and it was just something that I hung on to. It’s a bit of a social experiment to see how long I can last with this tattooed on my forehead before I rush to get it lasered off, which will always be an option.”
Steve-O will have more material related to his face tattoo, turning 50 and more as part of his Steve-O: The Super Dummy! Tour shows, which feature comedy, stunts and other never-before-seen videos. The tour will stop at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Oct. 11.
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Five of the nine shows in California will feature his longtime friend and stuntman, Chris Pontius, who’s appeared in the “Jackass” franchise and the MTV spin-off “Wildboyz.”
“It’s a multimedia stand-up comedy show representing the story of my struggles and what it’s like to be Steve-O, who just turned 50 years old. It is such a ridiculous situation, and trying to navigate turning 50 has proven to be a comedy of errors, but I will not back down.”
The comedian recently made headlines after backing out of a stunt where he was to undergo top surgery for breast implants. In an interview with Consequence of Sound, Steve-O said he changed his mind after speaking with a transgender cashier he encountered at a grocery store. She educated him about the health and discrimination issues the trans community continues to face, and that was enough for him to reconsider the stunt.
“I think it’s a very valuable trait to be able to admit when you’ve got things wrong,” he said in the interview.
Before kicking off his tour in Anaheim, Steve-O talked with Southern California News Group about the top surgery stunt, whether or not comedy is changing, why he moved to Nashville and more. The following conversation was edited for space and clarity.
Q: I’m looking at your face right now on screen, and it looks like your glasses are covering your new tattoo. Is it usually hidden like that?
Steve-O: I wouldn’t go that far. If you get up close, the glasses aren’t covering it.
Q: Do you get a lot of second glances from people who pass you by?
Steve-O: What sticks out to me is how uncomfortable anybody is to acknowledge it.
Q: You spoke a bit about interacting with the trans person before the stunt, which gave you a different understanding of the situation. Have you ever encountered others who have changed your mind like that before?
Steve-O: Nothing that’d I’d say is the equivalent to that. One thing that I was committed to doing and then backed out, of course, was putting the toy car up my butt, but anybody who’s a fan of “Jackass” for a long time would be aware of that. My dad influenced me to back out of that one.
Q: There is this ongoing criticism in comedy led by people who fault political correctness for comedy’s change. Do you think that’s accurate? Does thinking about people’s criticism affect your creativity?
Steve-O: I’ve really done a good job at not looking at what people are saying on the internet for mental health reasons. I’ve found that it’s unsafe for me to dive into the comment section. I’ve seen enough of it to understand what valid criticism is and adjust my path accordingly.
I haven’t seen anything people have commented about the stunt. I guess to observe me backing out of it and think, “Oh, this is Steve-O being woke/got all sensitive/this is what’s wrong with comedy.” I can’t argue with that, but at the same time, I’ve never been too worried about the state of society and woke culture because I’ve never targeted anybody but myself.
Q: How consistent would you say that’s been in your time in comedy?
With “Jackass,” we’ve always been very mean to ourselves and each other but super respectful of everybody else. There’s never been anything mean-spirited or hateful, and there’s been a positive and wholesome vibe in that respect. I would argue that “Jackass” and me, on my own, have always been “woke.” We’ve never wanted to make people feel bad. We give ourselves a hard time to spread joy to others. In this case, it did occur to me that I don’t ever want to do harm to anyone like that.
Q: “Jackass” also has a very physical kind of humor, some of which involves nudity. Where did that level of vulnerability come from?
Steve-O: There are a lot of guys who are driven by testosterone and masculinity and want to be tough. It’s built into our DNA to make us want to look cool and tough. What makes “Jackass” endearing is our willingness to not look cool. Even though we do high-impact and crazy stuff, the situations we put ourselves in make us not look tough. Overall, not taking ourselves too seriously is a huge part of it. I don’t take myself too seriously, but I do take respect for other people seriously.
Q: How’s the transition from the move been for you from Los Angeles to Nashville?
Steve-O: I was looking for a big property with lots of land to start an animal sanctuary. That’s kind of my long-term goal. My lady and I were really into that. Ultimately, I picture things will wind down, and I’ll be able to live on this ranch in the woods. It seems kind of sad when I put it that way, but we got the property, and I’m there, I absolutely can’t believe how much I love it. I hate that I’m not there.
Q: What made you want to leave L.A.?
Steve-O: I didn’t have a lot of land when I lived in L.A. I was also concerned that with all the fires that insurance companies would not insure these homes. I thought, “Man, what’s going to happen to the value of my house if I can’t get it insured? Where would I want to go if I were to sell my house?” So I wanted to go where I could have a lot of land, be out of the way, and not pay state income tax.
Q: What’s next for you after this tour?
Steve-O: We’ll see. I’m just going to stick with it and make the most of this. That’s where my head’s at right now. I’m taking it as it comes. I keep myself pretty busy with the digital content, the podcast, and touring. I’m going to focus on just trying to keep that up.
Steve-O: The Super Dummy! Tour
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11.
Where: San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose, CA
Tickets: $33.50-$67.50 at Ticketmaster.com.