Eric Andre, Johnny Knoxville and the taser shot that ended a 20-year friendship on the set of a Jimmy Kimmel production

If you want to skip all the words below, just watch the TikTok above. Also! Obligatory “everything is *~supposedly~* to save my ass here. Ok, here we go:

Between Two Ferns, The Tom Green Show, The Chris Gethard Show… There are many good twists on the classic late-night format, but in my opinion none are better than The Eric Andre Show. I was late when I finally saw it—I'd just gotten out of the Marine Corps and was able to smoke a little weed again—and I sat on the couch until sunrise watching every episode, giggling with laughter and having to look away every three seconds because I felt second-hand embarrassed.

I had never seen anything that moved me so much (aside from Canon Ball Dookie Original and Hippo Fart Explosion on YouTube), and I was blown away by Eric Andre's ability to commit to the wildest, most outlandish, most creative, and most physical parts, often with a calm, completely expressionless performance despite excruciating awkwardness.

Around the same time, I got a job as a production assistant at Comedy Central and my dream was to learn the business and work my way up to a writing job somewhere (oh, if only I could be that naive, stupid and INCREDIBLY confident again!).

I started performing at open mics, joined a sketch team, and took improv classes. Over the years, I started following not only the main cast but also the writers of some of my favorite shows on social media, hoping I could learn something from them. So at one point I started following Dan Curry, a writer for Eric Andre who later became executive producer and head writer (and the brains behind Bird Up, Ranch Bro, the Octopus, Sprite Dad, Kraft Punk, Society's Lies, Bensch Mensch, Cement Shoes, Goober Driver…):

I never interacted with him and on the rare occasions one of his posts did pop up, it was usually just a snapshot from the show or a picture with his dogs. Then my career path changed (many, many times), but I never unfollowed him. He just seemed like a nice guy.

All of this is to say that nearly a decade later, one weekend, I was scrolling through my usual late night rocking chair with my completely dazed baby in my arms when I suddenly saw one of his posts, and it wasn't the usual one. No dog or show promo in sight…

Instead, a pretty serious assault allegation by another well-known comedian, Johnny Knoxville, right in front of his longtime friend and colleague Eric Andre and on the set of a Jimmy Kimmel-produced ABC show, Prank Panel. The incident happened in 2022, but he had been silent until a few weeks ago when Disney lawyers said they wanted to dismiss the lawsuit and move it to arbitration, and now Curry is ready to shout it from the rooftops.

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Curious, I tapped on the blog he posted on his Substack. Here is the first part:

On September 22, 2022, while working off-camera as a creative consultant for ABC Television's Prank Panel, I was followed and assaulted with a stun gun. This act, courtesy of executive producer/star Johnny Knoxville, was non-consensual, non-planned, and a complete surprise to me – as well as the dozens of crew members, network personnel, and executives who witnessed this firsthand. Immediately afterward, I was left with a broken leg and a severely sprained ankle. This was my first time working with Knoxville, and I did not and did not know him personally. I have never consented to being physically touched, let alone with a stun gun. I am a writer, producer, sometimes performer, and director. I have a healthy respect for stunt professionals, but I have no aspirations to become one.

As the top of the food chain, Prank Panel was executive produced by Jimmy Kimmel, so I assumed the matter would be handled with integrity. However, about a week later, red flags started to appear for me when I received a copy of the incident report, which made no mention of the stun gun or my attacker. It stated, “The PT (patient?) ran/collapsed and fell” and the objectively offensive “Object caused injury: himself.” When I confronted production about the accuracy of the report (I claim), they refused to address or acknowledge my concerns and basically blamed me for what turned out to be permanent physical damage to my ankle. Dismayed and alarmed by this intellectually dishonest (alleged) cover-up, I decided to seek legal counsel – for the first time in my life.

You might be thinking, “Well, it's Johnny Knoxville, that's not going to happen.” And OK, maybe on the Jackass set (and even then it still sucks if it's just a totally random extra and you leave him out in the cold afterward), but I'd argue that was a corporate ABC set and that wasn't the vibe. And either way, lying on the injury report sucks because that could greatly affect Curry's further treatment and compensation. What seemed to bother him the most, though, and what he didn't mention in his blog, was the betrayal he felt from the friend who got into the standup scene with him over 20 years ago:

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According to witnesses, the attack was sad and no one was laughing, and it occurred immediately after Eric Andre tried to stun Knoxville with a taser, so many times had he him on set. After taking the taser from Andre, Knoxville reportedly made his way backstage to look for someone from Andre's team, and Curry happened to be the closest target.

When Curry contacted Andre in the weeks following the injury announcement, Andre reportedly rebuffed him, basically told him to play it cool, and began distancing himself. Meanwhile, Curry was on a scooter for six months, wore a boot, and had to do physical therapy, and his pain continues to this day.

I could go on and on about it, but you can read the rest of Curry's blog here. And I think I went into so much detail because it really sucks when someone is pressured and put down. He has two young children and I know how much it sucks to have an injury that takes away your ability to fully care for them for a while. And I guess I was pretty shocked that a comedian I admired would let a long-time friend and such an undeniable part of his success down like that.

He also said he received threats from Knoxville, and I also thought he was a (crazy but) good guy. And I'm not saying either of them are inherently terrible people, but why would they help cover this up so Disney can save a few bucks? It's not like they're short of money, and it's not like Knoxville has a reputation to lose that would ruin a flop show if this got out. Just look at Johnny Knoxville + lawsuit.

Interestingly, an anonymous TikTok account contacted me to tell me Curry was lying, but when I asked them to elaborate, they disappeared. I also reached out to another producer who confirmed that Curry was indeed pretty beat up afterward, sitting on a scooter in a cast. “He was trying to calm everyone down and get through the show.” The opposing side's lawyers have also confirmed that the footage exists, so there's not much to lie about. Here's what it looks like right now:

On Monday, August 26, I filed a report with the West Valley Community Police Station so a third party could investigate my claims. I'm tired of pretending this didn't happen. I'm tired of the disregard for my right to consent and the resistance I've had to endure for standing up for my basic bodily autonomy. I'm a human being with agency, not a non-playable character from Grand Theft Auto.

At this point, Curry doesn't seem to care about money or getting anyone in trouble, but about one of those “principles,” and it also seems cathartic for him to let it all out now. (More legal details are on Curry's blog, especially regarding access to the footage, but I'm too stupid to explain.) Anyway, I hope justice is served, Eric Andre finally stands up for his friend, and Knoxville sticks to numbing its own balls for a while.

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