Andrew Stanton

Andrew Stanton is a sword-swallower who reached the Semi-Finals of Series 16 of Britain's Got Talent. He was aged 42 and worked as a massage therapist at the time of his audition. He hailed from Hawaii, USA.

Stanton's performance was televised after a brief montage of 'spooky acts'. In his audition, Stanton performed a number of sword-swallowing stunts, before attaching judge Amanda Holden to a sword he had placed in his mouth alongside chains placed in his eyeballs and lifting her off of the floor. Alesha remarked 'You took [your performance] to another level so congratulations', with Simon adding 'It was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in the history of Got Talent [and] that is quite an achievement'.

In his Semi-Final, Stanton performed a routine involving swallowing a light-up sword, placing sets of wires in his nose and pulling a vehicle containing all four Judges using his eyes. Simon remarked 'It was disgusting, but I really really want to see it again', with Bruno describing the act as 'Like being in a horror version of Top Gear'.

Before BGT

In 2008, Stanton competed on the short-lived version of The Gong Show, where he was gonged and therefore eliminated.

In 2010, Stanton reached the Quarterfinals of the 5th season of ‘America's Got Talent’ as a member of SwingShift Side Show.

In 2012, Stanton broke the Guinness World Record for the 'Longest metal coil passed through the nose and out of the mouth' with a metal coil of 3.63 metres which equates to 11 feet and ten point nine inches on the set of 'Lo Show dei Record' in Rome, Italy.

In February 2014, Stanton broke the Guinness World Record for the 'Heaviest weight pulled with the eye sockets' by pulling a weight of 2,413 kilograms which equates to 5,319.75 pounds on the set of 'Lo Show dei Record' in Milan, Italy.

In 2021, Stanton advanced onto the finale of the first season of 'Go-Big Show', where he placed 3rd overall, losing out on the final face-off to fellow BGT & AGT alum Tulga.

Additionally in 2021, Stanton competed upon the 16th season of ‘France’s Got Talent’, however he was eliminated or withdrew prior to the Semi-Finals.

In February 2023, Stanton became the first ever world record setter for the Guinness World Record of the 'Heaviest weight lifted with both eye sockets while swallowing a sword' by lifting a weight of 58.80 kilograms which equates to 129.63 pounds on the set of 'Lo Show dei Record' in Milan, Italy.

After BGT

Additionally in 2023, Stanton competed on the 18th season of ‘America’s Got Talent’ where he was once again eliminated in the Semi-Finals.

Controversy

Due to the fact that his audition was televised directly before the 9pm watershed, it received complaints from several fans on social media who thought that the act was unsuitable to be televised on the show at the time as young people could have been watching and that they saw the act as absolutely horrifying and in their eyes unsuitable for anyone of any age to even watch. On May 3rd, 2023, it was reported by the Daily Mail that Stanton's audition attracted 83 complaints to Ofcom.

Trivia

• Stanton is the seventh ever act to have competed on BGT & AGT within the same year with the first being Siro-A, the second being Charlie Plaçais, the third being Mr. Uekusa, the fourth being Gonzo, the fifth being Wesley Williams, the sixth being Thomas Vu, the eighth being Noodle, the ninth being Duncan Murray, & the tenth being B Unique Crew.