Steve-O canceled surgery to get breast implants.
For those who are confused, the Fool The star was planning a bit where he, a cisgender man, would get breast augmentation done in order to provoke reactions from other men. He explained in a recent interview with Consequence of Sound that he planned to “ride a pink Vespa at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally completely in disguise, where no one could tell who I was.”
“And the plan I had was to film with hidden cameras as I went into large gangs of motorcycle riders, who would probably check me out,” Steve-O explained. “And I’d walk up to take my helmet off and I’d be like, ‘Yeah, man,’ and I’d get this crazy reaction, which, predictably, would be controversial.”
However, the reality star said she changed her mind and canceled the surgery after having a conversation with a transgender person. Steve-O explained that he hadn’t previously participated in “any dedicated meetings or conversations with trans people because I didn’t feel like I had to.”
“On the day of the scheduled surgery, I was checking out at the supermarket and the person who was ringing me at the grocery store was apparently transgender and it seemed like a sign from the universe,” she recalls. “So I asked the transgender person if I could manage something with them, and I had a conversation with that person that had a profound effect on me.”
“[They] described how they weren’t allowed to use the bathroom at their workplace, that there were maybe 28 states in the country that would arrest them for having an ID that said female,” she recalled, adding, “It was really heartbreaking, the level of oppression that was described.” .
Six states currently ban transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity in government buildings, with an additional seven policing bathroom use in K-12 schools, according to the Movement Advancement Project. While there are no laws prohibiting having an ID that matches one’s gender identity, four states do not allow residents to legally change their gender marker and nine require proof of surgery, a court order, or an amended birth certificate.
Steve-O said the conversation made him realize that his pranks “aren’t all fun and games” and that the piece could be seen as a “celebration of anti-trans violence” by trying to get laughs out of potentially violent reactions.
“I would consider it a better video if I was beaten up at the motorcycle rally. And to have that mindset was very flawed, because ultimately it would be an exercise in celebrating violence against trans people,” he said. “At least, it would be interpreted that way by some, and when it was put to me that way, I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I missed the mark on that.’
Steve-O said he is now “extremely grateful” he didn’t go through with the operation, but still thinks “the extent to which I was prepared to do it is hilarious in itself.”
“I think it’s a very valuable trait to be able to admit when you’ve got things wrong,” he said.
