TALENT JUDGES CRITICIZE RESPONSE TO FIERY ACCIDENT

Two judges who appeared on Tuesday’s semi-finals edition of America’s Got Talent have criticized producers Freemantle Media for failing to come to the aid of a member of a gymnastics act when one of the members apparently caught his foot in a ring of fire, bringing the ring down with him as he fell. “He was lying there, and I didn’t see anybody with a fire extinguisher,” judge Howie Mandel told today’s (Thursday) New York Post. “In no way do I ever want to see someone get hurt. It was just scary!” he added. Fellow judge Sharon Osbourne, who appeared shocked when the gymnast, a member of the University of Maryland group Gymkana, took his spill, told the Post, “We have got to be more on our toes. … It took too long” for an emergency team to take action. But a spokesperson for the production company told E! News: “A medical team, along with a fire-safety team were on standby and they were prepared to step in if necessary, but they did not need to intercede because the performers were wearing suits treated with a flame retardant spray and no injuries ensued.” Wednesday night’s results show, meanwhile, in which Gymkana was eliminated, attracted 10.3 million total viewers, tops for the night. CBS’s Big Brother 13, which aired an hour earlier, drew fewer viewers (8.2 million) but ranked No. 1 for the night among viewers 18-49.