Britain’s Got Talent stirs controversy with “inappropriate” pranks by Simon Cowell and Bruno Tonioli

Britain’s Got Talent is said to have gotten into some hot water with an ‘inappropriate’ prank in between auditions – which saw Simon Cowell pretend to be seriously injured.

The talent show is currently filming for its new series and a plethora of hopeful acts have been welcomed to the stage to show what they can do.

But at one point during filming, arbitrators Bruno Tonioli and Simone, 63, are said to have taken turns because the former seemed like a joke.

The new judge, 67, was given a bow to shoot his musical boss – but was spooked after Simon pretended he was knocked down and hurt by the arrow – which,according to the suncaused some offense among the live audience.

It wouldn’t be the first time the Syco boss played this trick either, as he previously pulled off the exact same joke on America’s Got Talent.

A TikTok user shared a clip of the moment, in which Bruno the stern judge was said to have been fooled into believing he shot Simon dead in front of a live audience – with the prank called disrespectful by the actual victims.

The post reports that prior to Simon’s prank, an act was on stage performing a balloon-shooting routine.

Having decided to have a laugh between acts, Simon and Bruno are said to have taken to the stage with a crossbow too – with his eyes blindfolded.

He was then allegedly told to shoot, not knowing that the long-ago magistrate was ready to pretend to be shot with a rigged crossbow stuck in the chest by the staff.

Simon reportedly lay on the floor playing dead while a paramedic rushed to his aid in front of the live audience – leaving Bruno shocked.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Bruno Tonioli, Simon Cowell and Britain’s Got Talent for comment.

While it was said that laughter was then given after Simon admitted he wasn’t serious, some fans were less than impressed with the prank choice.

The Sun reports crossbow attack victim Laura Sugden said, ‘I can’t believe it’s even allowed on the show. It is not regulated, but it is a deadly weapon.

I have been in a situation where I lost someone. For Britain’s Got Talent to offer this as a joke, I find it really disrespectful.

Bruno should have been an easy target for Simon as the newest judge to join the show this year, replacing David Walliams.

Reportedly, the former Strictly Come Dancing judge told colleagues he didn’t immediately know the BGT incident was a stunt – and thought it was “inappropriate”.

A source close to the star added that his stunt felt wrong in light of the death of cinematographer Halena Hutchins while working with Alec Baldwin on his film, which is set in October 2021.

However, a source from BGT told the publication, “This is a light skit on the show between the judges – and it’s not intended to cause any offense whatsoever.”

Simon actually pulled the same prank before on America’s Got Talent back in 2021 – instead he chose Sofia Vergara as his victim back then.

With the exact same turn of events happening at the time, which was aired on the show, Sophia is left in shock while convinced she has done wrong to him.

But after revealing he was joking and pulling the arrow out of his chest, Simon had fits of laughter as a relieved Sofia got to see the funny side too.

Since joining the BGT panel, Bruno has been at the center of a slew of rumors of animosity with his panelmates – as judge Alesha Dixon admitted he was “extremely stressful” to work with.

Speaking about her fellow new judge during a recent appearance on Capital Breakfast, the singer joked that the former Strictly Come Dancing judge “doesn’t know how to sit still.”

She said: Yes, he does not know how to sit still. It’s like sitting next to an excited puppy, I’m not even exaggerating.

“The first day I was like, ‘What’s going on here? It’s very stressful.

The talented judge also joked that she could run a kindergarten “much better than I could run Bruno.”

While before filming began, Amanda Holden and Alisha reportedly refused to sign contracts for the latest series as they were said to be angry that new judge Bruno had been offered a salary commensurate with theirs – an estimated £850,000.

According to The Sun, Amanda and Alisha entered the latest series in disarray as bosses scrambled to secure the best TV shows ahead of filming in London last month.

A source told the publication at the time, “Amanda has been on BGT for 17 years, while Alisha is going into her 11th year. They don’t think it’s fair for a newcomer to walk into the show and get the same deal he did.”