ITV’s Britain Got Talent has come under fire following a prank which saw Simon Cowell being “shot” with a crossbow on stage.
During the unexpected stunt that took place at the auditions, blindfolded judge Bruno Tonioli fired the weapon in Simon’s direction and was tricked into thinking that he had hit him while on stage in Manchester.
Although the prank was intended to cause surprise and also relief, it appears it hasn’t gone down very well.
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Laura Sugden, who was previously wounded in a crossbow attack that killed her partner, blasted the joke and said it was “disgraceful”.
She told The Sun: “I can’t believe it’s even allowed on the show. It’s not regulated, but it’s a lethal weapon.
(Image: ITV)
“I’ve been in a situation where I’ve lost somebody. For Britain’s Got Talent to showcase that as a prank I just find really disrespectful.
“There will be people watching who lost loved ones through such a dangerous weapon. I can’t comprehend how anyone would find it funny,” she added.
Before Simon’s prank took place on the show during the programme’s audition round last month, an act had been performing a routine of shooting balloons.
The act involved one of them attempting to hit balloons on the head of another performer without causing them any harm.
(Image: ITV)
When Simon and Bruno also took to the stage, the audience assumed that they would also perform the same routine.
Newly appointed judge Bruno was then instructed to fire the weapon however he was unaware father-of-one Simon was going to pretend he had been shot by him.
Programme staff rigged up Simon so a crossbow arrow appeared to stick out of his chest.
As things start to get dramatic, Simon could be seen pretending to be struck by the arrow as a paramedic rushes over to treat him.
(Image: ITV)
A clip of the scene which was later uploaded to TikTok d by an audience member shows the crowd screaming and comes with a “sensitive content” warning.
A source told The Sun that former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno found the scene “inappropriate”.
The source said: “He was genuinely panicked and for a moment really thought something had gone badly wrong.
“Despite it making amazing TV, Bruno felt it was too over the top and inappropriate.
“He said it felt wrong in light of the death of Halyna Hutchins on the Alec Baldwin film set in 2021.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
