Sharon Osbourne’s Make-Up Artist Sued America’s Got Talent’s After She Was Badly Injured On The Show's Set

When most fans think of the reality TV competition show America's Got Talent, they envision successful former winners and the famous and rich judges. However, there is a lot about the show that fans rarely know or think about. For example, fans rarely consider the rules that have to be followed, the fact that winners don't get $1 million, and the show's behind-the-scenes scandals.

Unfortunately for one of the people who worked behind-the-scenes, Sharon Osbourne’s makeup artist, his experience on the show went awry. After suffering a life-changing injury due to alleged negligence on the show's set, Sharon Osbourne’s makeup artist sued the show's producers.

Sharon Osbourne's Make-Up Artist Sued After Being Injured On The Set of America's Got Talent

When fans watch a show like America's Got Talent, they focus on the people auditioning, the host, and the judges. Of course, that makes perfect sense, since those are the people that viewers get to see on the show and care about. While that may be the case, it is also a shame to a certain degree. After all, even AGT's most passionate fans will rarely consider the army of other people who make the show possible.

One perfect example of the kind of AGT employee who doesn't get enough credit is the hair and makeup team. As bad as that is, things became a lot worse for Sharon Osbourne's AGT makeup artist when he felt the need to sue the show's network and producers. In October 2013, TMZ published an article revealing that Sharon's make-up artist had filed a lawsuit after a horrible incident from 2012.

According to TMZ's report, Sharon's makeup artist claimed that severe negligence resulted in him suffering life-changing injuries.

According to TMZ's article, Sharon's makeup artist, Jude Alcala, was walking backstage on America's Got Talent's set. At that moment, tragedy hit when Jude stepped into a hole in the stage and fell six feet below.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 2,804,200 workplace injuries in America during 2002. Tragically, the same entity reported that 5,486 of those workplace injuries were fatal.

An important thing to note is that Jude's lawsuit claimed that AGT's producers' negligence is what led to his accident. To back up that claim, the lawsuit stated that there were no warning signs or markers of any kind warning people of the hole in the show's stage.

For their article, TMZ spoke to inside sources who told the outlet that Jude broke his femur in the fall. On top of that, the sources also stated that Jude injured his shoulder so seriously that he required surgery.

According to a May 2023 article from The U.S. Sun, America's Got Talent's producers have been sued at least four times since the show began.

Given that Jude was a makeup artist, having a severely injured leg and shoulder certainly would affect his career. As a part of his lawsuit, Jude claimed that the damage from his injuries was permanent.

TMZ's article revealed that as a result of his injuries, Jude sued for unspecified damages. The lawsuit named NBC and AGT's production companies, Syco Entertainment and Fremantle Media.

After Jude Alcala filed his lawsuit against NBC and America's Got Talent's production companies, none of the defendants responded publicly.

Even though there were a lot of headlines when Jude filed his lawsuit, there weren't any follow-up reports about the legal battle. That makes it seem likely that some sort of out-of-court settlement was reached. After all, if the matter went to trial or was thrown out of court, that almost certainly would have been covered in the news. That said, there is no way for observers to definitively know what the outcome of the matter was.

Sharon Osbourne Publicly Supported Her Former Makeup Artist's Lawsuit

The day after TMZ published their article about Jude Alcala's lawsuit, there was a fascinating follow-up story. The reason for that is because Sharon Osbourne spoke out publicly about the matter and sided with her former makeup artist in the legal dispute.

On October 15, 2013, the aforementioned TMZ reporter asked Sharon about Jude's lawsuit as she appeared to be leaving an airport. In response to the reporter's questions, Sharon expressed her support for Jude. When asked if she thought the people Jude sued would take responsibility for what happened, Sharon gave a blunt answer.

They'd better be.

As definitive as that short but sweet statement was, Sharon had a lot more to say.

While talking to TMZ's reporter, Sharon began speaking about how the injuries have affected Jude's life and career.

Before Jude Alcala filed his lawsuit, Sharon Osbourne had already quit America's Got Talent in July 2012. Screen Rant reported that Sharon told The New York Post she quit after NBC refused to cast Jack Osbourne in a reality show because he'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Sharon's comments made it seem like she was in contact with Jude since she seemed to have specific knowledge about how his injuries affected him.

"The guy's been sick for over a year. I think it's a disgrace that they ignored him... He's had an operation but he's been in and out of work for the last 18 months."

As fascinating as that comment from Sharon was, she still had more to say.

While talking to TMZ's reporter, Sharon expressed her opinion that America's Got Talent's producers ran the show on an incredibly dangerous stage.

[It's] the worst stage in the entire world. Some guy designed a stage set with a hole in the middle. You know? Somebody has to pay the price.

Considering that most celebrities wouldn't take a stand against a major network, seeing Sharon's blunt take on Jude's lawsuit was refreshing.