The Truth About Jonathan Goodwin's AGT: Extreme Near-Death Experience
On February 21, 2022, "America's Got Talent" announced that it would be going extreme, by debuting a spinoff show — "America's Got Talent: Extreme" — on NBC. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the show will feature heart-pounding stunts involving acrobatics, heights, vehicles, and daring feats. Per the outlet, these acts rarely take the prize on "America's Got Talent," so the new show will allow the more daring stunts-people equal footing to compete for the $500,000 prize. Along with veteran judge Simon Cowell and host Terry Crews, two other judges will be joining the crew: professional motorsports competitor Travis Pastrana and WWE wrestler Nikki Bella.
"You've seen us look nervous in the main show, occasionally," Cowell told USA Today. "On this show, we were nervous from start to finish. It was extreme actually judging. You're thinking the whole time, 'Why would you do this?' Things can and unfortunately did go wrong on this show." Case in point: During a rehearsal for "America's Got Talent: Extreme," a stunt performed by daredevil and escapologist Jonathan Goodwin did go terribly wrong.
Jonathan Goodwin was involved in a near-fatal stunt on-set
In October 2021, professional daredevil and escapologist Jonathan Goodwin was rehearsing for a stunt on the set of "America's Got Talent: Extreme," when it went terribly wrong. Per TMZ, Goodwin was attempting to free himself from a straitjacket while he was sandwiched between two cars and suspended in mid-air. However, after the stuntman failed to free himself from the straitjacket in time, the two cars collided and burst into flames. According to the outlet, the horrific impact left Goodwin with multiple broken bones and burns all over his face. Witnesses on-set worried that the accident was fatal, and production was consequently halted on the set of "America's Got Talent: Extreme."
"I have been to the very brink and dodged the worst that a human being can, without fear...because I was protected by love," Goodwin said in an Instagram post shortly after his accident. "Love is all you need, so make sure you get some, cos its good s***. To death I say nananana boo boo ... and to the rest of you ... watch this space. There is a long road to recovery and that won't look like what it did." On February 20, Goodwin was finally released from the hospital after spending several months recuperating from his injuries. "Four months later... finally out of hospital," Goodwin captioned a photo of himself and his fiancee, Amanda Abbington, on Instagram. "My birthday today... can't think of a better way to spend it than with my love."