Johnny Knoxville sued for ‘terrifying’ prank involving bangs and electricity

Johnny Knoxville made his career pranking his “Jackass” co-stars and unsuspecting civilians. However, the 51-year-old has now been sued along with production company Dickhouse Entertainment over what they say is a “terrifying ordeal”.

In a lawsuit obtained by TMZ, repairman Khalil Khan claimed he was hired through Taskrabbit to fix an electrical dimmer switch at the actor’s home in Long Beach, California. He was told that the last guy did a lousy job, so “better do it right or he’s going to get beat up,” according to Yahoo.

Khan claimed the owner told him, “I know jiu-jitsu,” which allegedly made him fear for his safety. Eager to get the job done and leave, Khan only started working to make the lights go out – when a 10-year-old girl showed up and accused him of killing her pony.

The owner again accused Khan of cutting off the electricity, claiming it resulted in the death of the little girl’s pony, who appeared to be on life support in an adjacent room. The defendant, who claimed to be in shock, then noticed someone towing his car.

When he tried to call the police, Khan claimed one of the “tow truck drivers” rushed over with a bag of white powder – and accused him of having cocaine in his car.

Knoxville told Khan the whole ordeal was a prank, but Khan wasn’t amused.

ROBYN BECK via Getty Images

“At that point, the plaintiff (Khan) was in a panic,” the lawsuit said.

“Within minutes he’d been threatened with beatings, told he botched the repair, accused of murdering a pony, had his car taken without a permit and now he’s been told he’s being charged with illegal possession arrested narcotics,” it said.

A Knoxville representative did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

While audiences would have expected his performance at the time, Knoxville’s sudden appearance to inform Khan that this had been an elaborate prank did not go well. When offered “a few hundred dollars,” Khan was “not amused and remains uninterested.”

The lawsuit claims Khan was “severely shaken and traumatized by this episode” and said he was sleepless, anxious, worried and desperate. He sued Knoxville and Dickhouse Entertainment for compensatory, special and punitive damages, and legal costs.

“Khan fears that if the episode goes public, it will bring him embarrassment and ridicule, as well as possibly damage his reputation and business,” the lawsuit argued.