'Jackass' star Bam Margera says he was 'basically pronounced dead' after suffering 5 seizures amid a severe case of pneumonia

• Former "Jackass" star Bam Margera has opened up about his December 2022 hospitalization.
• On Steve-O's podcast, Margera said that his condition was much worse than people realize.
• "I went into my fifth seizure, and I couldn't breathe without a tube down my throat," Margera said.

Former "Jackass" star Bam Margera has opened up about his recent brush with death.

On December 9, 2022, it was announced that the stunt performer and skateboarder had been hospitalized after contracting a serious case of pneumonia. Margera reportedly later tested positive for coronavirus while under the care of doctors and was put on a ventilator. 

Margera — real name Brandon Cole Margera — has now shared that his stay at a medical center in San Diego, California, was much worse than people realize as he also suffered multiple seizures. 

The 43-year-old star spoke to his former "Jackass" costar Steve-O on Thursday's episode of the "Steve-O's Wild Ride!" podcast, and detailed the severity of his condition, which he said actually began with a "gnarly" case of coronavirus.

"I basically was pronounced dead on Elvis' birthday, December 8," Margera said. "I did not know that I had gnarly COVID."

"My body was shutting down, and I went into four seizures, each one lasting 10 to 20 minutes, and on the fourth one, I bit my tongue so hard it was nearly falling off," he continued.

Margera said that as a result, he accidentally swallowed "infected blood," which resulted in aspiration pneumonia, which occurs when food or liquid is breathed into the airways or lungs, instead of being swallowed. 

"It got so swollen and puffy, it wouldn't fit in my mouth, and I was drinking the infected blood, which gave me pneumonia as well, so when the shaman took me to the hospital, I went into my fifth seizure, and I couldn't breathe without a tube down my throat," he explained.

Margera added that he regained consciousness five days after he was admitted and had no idea that so much time had passed as he felt like he had only been there "for a couple of hours."

He said that after eight days in the hospital, he was released but "when they took that tube out I felt like I sucked on Darth Vader's dick."

Steve-O recalled reading about Margera's condition being "critical but stable" and fearing the worst, but joked that his "first legitimate thought" was that Margera's death could potentially ruin his ongoing tour.

"The important thing is that Bam's not dead," he concluded.

Margera and Steve-O are both known for their appearances in the MTV prank series "Jackass" and its many feature-length movies.

However, Margera was not involved in the latest installment, "Jackass Forever," released last year, because he allegedly broke a clause in his contract that required him to stay sober during production. 

Margera disputed his firing in a lawsuit against Paramount and "Jackass" cocreator Johnny Knoxville, which was eventually settled.