Steve-O Arrested After Climbing 100-Foot Crane To Display Inflatable Whale That Read ‘Seaworld Sucks’

Steve-O was arrested Sunday night after the Jackass star climbed a crane in Hollywood in a protest against SeaWorld. The dangerous stunt drew more than 100 emergency response workers to the scene.

Steve-O climbed atop the crane on a construction site on Sunset Boulevard, said Los Angeles police Lt. Michael Ling. Once at the top, Steve-O inflated a balloon of a killer whale with the words “Seaworld Sucks,” The Associated Press reported.

The 41-year-old actor and comedian filmed his protest, showing himself more than one hundred feet in the air as police cruisers surrounded the crane.

“We definitely have their attention,” he said as he filmed the police cars.

“This is pretty exciting,” Steve-O later said, adding, “The cops are going to have to wait for kind of a while I think. I’ve got a few things to do.”

The protest was connected to the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which exposed the alleged abuse and mistreatment of sea animals at Sea World.

The large response to Sunday’s stunt came because police were not sure if Steve-O, whose real name is Stephen Glover, was in danger and needed to be rescued. In total, there were 80 firefighters, five ambulances, and a helicopter that showed up in response.

“Some of the resources on this hoax could have been devoted to a real emergency,” said fire department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.

Steve-O had dropped hints of the protest, posting a picture of the inflatable whale on Instagram along with a promise to do “something dangerous” that would be broadcast live.

“This is Shammy. We’re gonna do a big dangerous stunt tomorrow in Los Angeles that will probably get me in a lot of trouble, and you can watch it happen at 7pm PST via a live stream on my Facebook page.”

https://instagram.com/p/6JHOVvwq4T/

This is not the first time that Steve-O has been arrested after protesting SeaWorld. Last year, he was handed a $230 traffic citation after climbing atop a road sign on southbound Interstate 5 in San Diego and defacing a sign for Sea World.

Steve-O covered up the word “Drive” with a banner that read “SUCKS,” making the sign read, “Sea World SUCKS” for a time.

The Jackass regular didn’t seem to mind being cited for the protest.

In an Instagram post, he wrote, “The California Highway Patrol has requested that the District Attorney file charges against me for helping out this sign. Bring on the publicity, because #SeaWorldSucks #yeahdude #freesteveo.”

After Steve-O had been arrested on Sunday, he was booked on several charges, including conspiracy to commit trespassing and filming without a permit.

[Image via Instagram]