EXCLUSIVEParalyzed stuntman praises Simon Cowell for being 'incredibly supportive' after horrifying accident - despite lawsuit against America's Got Talent
Simon Cowell has been a rock of support for an America's Got Talent contestant that was left paralyzed by a stunt, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Former escapologist Jonathan Goodwin says he has become good friends with the AGT judge despite suffering life changing injuries on his show.
Cowell rushed to the father-of-one's hospital bedside when he collided with two burning cars and fell 30ft to the ground during a stunt gone wrong three years ago.
In an exclusive interview, Goodwin, 44, revealed: 'I have not a bad word to say about Simon Cowell, he's great and has been incredibly supportive.
'He's a remarkable human being and I'm very grateful for his personal friendship.
Simon Cowell has been a steadfast supporter of an America's Got Talent contestant who was left paralyzed during a daring stunt
Former America's Got Talent contestant Jonathan Goodwin was left paralyzed after a stunt went wrong in 2021. Goodwin is suing the show's production companies and stunt coordinator for negligence, claiming they failed to implement proper safety measures.
'He's great. He came immediately to the hospital after the incident.
'We sat for hours and talked and we've been in touch since.'
He suffered third degree burns, a damaged liver and kidneys, a punctured lung, two broken shoulders and a complete spinal injury, which means he is unlikely to walk again.
The British stuntman has an ongoing lawsuit against Cowell's Syco Entertainment company as well as Fremantle Media, Marathon Productions, Walk About Inc., T-Minus Productions, NBCUniversal and AGT stunt coordinator T.J. White.
He is suing for negligence and peculiar risk. The lawsuit reads, 'Among other actions and inactions, defendants failed to implement industry safety standards, including, but not limited to, designing and modifying a stunt in a manner that made it highly likely to fail.'
Speaking from his home in Hertfordshire, England, Goodwin reveals that he has remained close to Cowell, 64, despite the legal dispute, explaining: 'I'm sure if there was a way for him to do that (drop the lawsuit) he would have done, but we're talking about a big thing.'
He added: 'It was a stunt where I was hanging upside down from a crane, 30ft in the air, in a straitjacket.
'Suspended next to me were two cars laced with explosives.
'The idea was, I had to escape and pull a release tether at my ankles so I would fall before the cars exploded and collided.
'Clearly that didn't happen. I did everything I was supposed to do but I didn't drop so the cars collided with me then exploded.
'Then I dropped, but by that time I wasn't over the airbag anymore, so I fell 30ft to the ground.
'I had the presence of mind to utter the famous words "Oh bleep", and then I woke up on the ground.'
Goodwin said he must have been conscious at the time because he tucked his head in as he fell.
'That's why I broke both my shoulders but didn't have a head injury,' he said.
'I was pretty chilled when I came round. I realized there had been a catastrophic accident and I knew I was paralyzed, I just didn't know that it was a permanent thing.
'I just knew I couldn't feel my legs and I got a free ride in a helicopter. That began six months of being in hospital trying to recover as much as I could.'
Despite the lawsuit, Goodwin says he has become good friends with Simon Cowell, a judge on America's Got Talent. Cowell visited him in the hospital after the accident and they have remained in touch
Goodwin has been comforted by the support of his actress fiancée, Amanda Abbington, who he proposed to just weeks before the near-fatal accident.
Abbington, 50, has been involved in her own dispute with the makers of the UK-version of Dancing with the Stars, called Strictly Come Dancing.
She alleges she was verbally abused by professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice – claims that are now being investigated by the show's makers the BBC.
AGT was rocked by another incident this month when aerialist Sebastian competed in the quarterfinals alone after his partner Sonia was injured, forcing her to watch backstage wearing a sling.
Goodwin, who has a daughter aged 12 from a previous relationship, claims profits are too often put before safety in the film and TV industry.
The same year he was injured, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when actor Alec Baldwin fired a loaded gun during rehearsals for the Western movie Rust.
Goodwin said: 'People will do stupid things. They will ride roughshod over rules and just basic common sense to get the outcome that is required.
'I think there is a general lack of care giving in both film and television around that issue.
'The Rust scenario is a good example. The idea that there was a live round on that set is mind-blowing. I don't understand that.
'People have said to me, 'Well if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.'
'But the reality in my case is that what happened should not have happened and if what we had planned had occurred, then the stunt would have been fine because of the safety mechanisms. It's just basic care-taking in television generally.
Goodwin's injuries are life-changing as he suffered third-degree burns, damaged organs, broken bones, and a complete spinal cord injury
'I think one of the problems with TV is that there is a high turnover of staff and production companies tend to hire people on a temporary basis when they have a program commissioned.
'Consequently, it's often new people and there are times when people that don't have much experience are given a lot of responsibility. The way the business works is not conducive to a duty of care.
'After my incident – and this is a matter of public record – there was an investigation and several recommendations were made based on the shortcomings that occurred.
'So already what happened to me has helped ensure it doesn't happen again, but the reality is it's difficult to change.'
Goodwin is now working as a hypnotherapist with Project Rewire. For more information go to: https://projectrewire.com/about-us/
