America's Got Talent contestant shot in the throat with flaming arrow as stunt goes wrong
Ryan Stock has confirmed he is OK following the incident
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When watching TV talent shows, it’s easy to fall into a false sense of security - most people who perform the life-endangering stunts are trained professionals - so when something does go wrong, it can catch viewers off guard.
That’s exactly what happened during America's Got Talent this week. For two minutes, married duo Amber and Ryan Stock built up audience anticipation for a bizarre stunt that would see Amber shoot a flaming arrow down Ryan’s throat.
Showing off some impressive throat skills, Ryan swallowed a bent sword and an arrow, all before putting on some safety goggles while Amber climbed a ladder with a crossbow.
After a few seconds lining up the shot and lighting her arrow on fire, Amber proceeded to fire at her partner of 16 years, accidentally missing, and hitting him in the throat.
Soon after the incident, Ryan reassured those at home he was OK via a Twitter post. He wrote: "We had a serious mishap tonight outage live on @nbcagt. A very unfortunate mechanical failure but I am very fortunate to walk away from it.”
While the official video on Youtube doesn’t show the immediate aftermath of the shot hitting Ryan, other clips reveal what really happened on the live broadcast.
America’s Got Talent has already been renewed for a 2017 season after the current season averaged 11.4 million viewers a night. Flaming arrows to the throat should provide a further boost.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments