The Untold Truth Of Rachel Wolfson

MTV's "Jackass" premiered on MTV in 2000, and the first "Jackass" movie premiered in 2002. The fact that "Jackass Forever" is out in 2022 means that the team behind the franchise has been doing what they do for a long, long time, which is apparent when you look at their visibly aged visages and Johnny Knoxville's grey hair.

Of course, the fact that the classic "Jackass" members are in their 40s and 50s doesn't necessarily mean that they're any less prone to jumping headfirst into the world of hurt for the sake of laugh-a-minute reality comedy. However, "Jackass Forever" also introduces a number of new stars in the "Jackass" fold, which means that the movie both offers a nostalgia trip to fans of the original crew — and introduces a crew of new daredevils to the audience. 

Are fans witnessing a passing of the torch to a new generation, or is this simply the swan song of the franchise, with some fresh faces thrown in the mix? It remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: "Jackass Forever" newcomers like Rachel Wolfson are well worth paying attention to.

Some new members of the "Jackass Forever" crew have been affiliated with the original members for a long time. For instance, Eric Manaka worked with Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius in "Action Point," the "Jackass"-style stunt comedy from 2018. Both Zach Holmes and Jasper Dolphin grew up watching "Jackass," and went on to star in similar shows. 

According to Variety, Wolfson was already known as a comedian before joining the "Jackass Forever" team, but unlike the previously mentioned newcomers of the "Jackass" family, he didn't know Knoxville personally. Instead, the "Jackass" star came across Wolfson on Instagram, and was clearly impressed enough to reach out. 

Like all the other new "Jackass Forever" faces, Wolfson didn't get to join the cast without a team chemistry test, where all original and prospective members got under one roof to see how well their personalities meshed. As Knoxville himself confirmed, things went just fine. "Within about 30 minutes, we knew it felt great," he said about this first team get-together.

Rachel Wolfson might be a newcomer in the "Jackass" crew, but she's by no means a newcomer in entertainment. In fact, she has been maintaining a strong online presence for quite a while now, and as Forbes tells us, she's built quite a name for herself as a cannabis-themed influencer. She recognized early on that this particular niche could do with more great content, and started working on cannabis-themed comedy and podcasting, as well as establishing popular Instagram and Twitter accounts. 

"I saw the value of podcasting years ago," she said. "I have a background in marketing and I knew this medium was going to be big. I also saw there was a shortage of cannabis podcasts." 

She started her first podcast with friend and fellow cannabis influencer Olivia Alexander, and after the latter moved on to work on her own Kush Queen brand, she struck out on her own with a show called "Chronic Relief," which focuses on both cannabis and mental health. 

Rachel Wolfson is a talented comedian, but while it may seem that an entertainment career was a natural choice for her, in a 2021 interview with High Times she was quick to note that she more or less stumbled into her comedy career. 

"I spent my 20s in and out of working corporate and restaurant jobs," Wolfson said. "I took marketing gigs on the side, and I just kind of hustled, working wherever I could. Then I started working at a corporate comedy company, and at this point, I taught myself Photoshop so I could gain a new skill to help at my comedy job, and at this point, I was in the marketing side of comedy."

A combination of Photoshop skills, an interest in cannabis, and a desire to become adept at comedy herself led to a Twitter account that focused on memes. Soon, she found just how funny she could be, and she started doing stand-up comedy and podcasts. 

Rachel Wolfson isn't afraid to speak out on the subject of mental health, and per Forbes, she has done so on a regular basis — both in interviews and as part of her podcast, "Chronic Relief." Wolfson herself was diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder at an early age, and her personal affiliation with cannabis has a lot to do with the fact that she finds it far better for her than the various pharmaceutical drugs she's been prescribed in the past. 

"For as long as I could remember, the pills never made me feel right," she said. "I was supposed to be taking something to make me feel better but it only made me feel worse. By the time I was in my mid 20s, anytime someone would mention an antidepressant, anti psychotic, or an anti-anxiety med, my response was 'Oh yea, I've taken that!'"

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

As names go, Rachel Wolfson is hardly "Jane Smith," so it's easy to assume that when you search her name online, the "Jackass Forever" star is the result that'll turn up. However, as luck would have it, there's also another well-known Rachel Wolfson out there — and while her career is vastly different from that of the comedian, both Wolfsons just so happen to be social media influencers. The Rachel Wolfson who doesn't appear in "Jackass Forever" is a tech journalist, speaker, and blockchain expert who's worked with Forbes and The Huffington Post, among other outlets. 

 Since "Jackass Forever" Wolfson's star is on a pretty steep rise, this seems like the kind of problem that'll go away once the movie settles nicely in the cultural zeitgeist. Still, it's good to keep in mind that the two Wolfsons are separate people with very different fields of expertise.