A knife throwing troupe has discovered the hard way that live television may not be the best way to broadcast their act after a blundering performance on a Lithuanian reality TV show.
Performing on Lithuania’s Got Talent, a studio audience, judges and viewers at home watched on in horror as a knife thrower first cut open his partner’s left hand, narrowly avoided cutting his right, then hit him in the head during the dangerous performance.
The knife thrower’s assistant, who appears calm but utterly terrified, was required to stand in front of a wooden board as the knife thrower threw blades at him with varying degrees of success.
It was during the second part of the act that the stunt began to go awry.
The knife thrower’s assistant, dressed in a ceremonial military costume, holds playing cards to the left and right of his head while his partner attempts to pin them to the board with the knives.
First, a blade is flung into the card at the perfect spot, lodging itself in the board inches above the assistant’s hand.
But with wildly inconsistent accuracy, his second attempt lands inches too low – at the exact spot the card is being held by the assistant – slicing open his fingers.
Ever the professional, the assistant grimaces and remains standing in place.
Despite the potential for serious injury, the act continues and the knife thrower comes perilously close to repeating the blunder with his assistant’s right hand.
But the closest shave comes during the show’s finale, for which a watermelon is placed inches above the assistant’s head.
After the first knife lands too high and misses the fruit completely, the thrower over adjusts.
The crowd gasps when his second shot hits his assistant in the head – centimeters away from lodging itself in his eye or the top of his head.
The performance then ends, and while the group stand together to listen to the judges’ verdict, the knife thrower can be seen trying to inconspicuously wipe blood off the stage with his shoe.
I’m sure his assistant was holding his breath the whole time and trying not to flinch or cringe. He probably also had the insane urge to cover his privates. Not sure why the judges didn’t halt the potential skewering. If the assistant got injured or killed, the judges would be sued too. Maybe it was all for the ratings. No talent show, no matter the prize, is worth dying a bloody death for.