Production has been temporarily halted on “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” after a contestant was seriously injured while filming a stunt.
Escape artist Jonathan Goodwin sustained injuries Thursday (October 14) while performing his act during rehearsals. According to a spokesperson for the show, “He was responsive and was immediately taken to the hospital where he is continuing to receive medical care.”
TMZ reported that Goodwin was airlifted to a nearby hospital from Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia. The 41-year-old reportedly underwent surgery and remained in critical condition in the trauma ward.
The website also shared graphic video footage of the stunt, that showed Goodwin strapped in a straitjacket and suspended in the air with two cars on each side of him, set up to crash into each other. The escape artist freed and unhooked himself to fall onto the airbag below, but the timing was such that Goodwin was sandwiched between the vehicles, triggering a rigged explosion.
A released 911 call from a medic that was on site revealed that Goodwin “fell about 40 feet, missed the airbag, landed on his head.”
On Sunday, “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” shared that is was temporarily stopping production of the show due to the accident.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with Jonathan Goodwin and his family as he continues to recover from his accident on Thursday,” a spokesperson for the NBC series told TODAY on Sunday. “In order to focus on the wellbeing of our crew, we will be temporarily pausing production on ‘America’s Got Talent: Extreme’ and will resume the last few days of filming at a later date. The health and safety of our cast and crew continue to be our priority.”
Goodwin appeared on season 13 of “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2019, making it to the finals where he finished eighth. The following year, he made it to the semi-finals on season 15 of “America’s Got Talent.”
We continue to pray for Jonathan Goodwin’s full recovery. See some footage from Jonathan Goodwin’s previous “America’s Got Talent” appearances below.