America's Got Talent's star acrobat Matthew Richardson doesn't make the judge cuts and fans are devastated
Acrobat Matthew Richardson wowed the judges with his breath-taking performance during the auditions, which won him a unanimous "yes!" from the judges. That brought Matthew to the next round, the Judge Cuts, where judges cull the number of performers further to a manageable size following which selected performers get to perform on the main show!
For the Judge Cuts round, Matthew chose to perform a piece that he created in memory of his father. In his introduction, Matthew mentions the role his father played in his journey becoming an acrobat. Matthew quit his job when he was 26 because he felt like he wasn’t accomplishing anything meaningful, and went to school for acrobatics.
His father supported him throughout the journey. He was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away within a month. "I just wanted to create something beautiful for him, my father was my biggest fan," shared Matthew. He then put on a beautiful performance using an aerial hoop designed to look like a giant dreamcatcher.
The imagery created through the performance was impeccable and was very moving. He incorporated voice recordings of his father in his performance which celebrity guest judge Brad Paisley appreciated. Gabrielle commented that she couldn't wait to buy tickets to his performance in Vegas. Simon shared that he looks at the acts from the lens of variety and believes that some of the acts he sees can not headline the main show, hinting at Matthew's performance, thereby, ending Matthew’s journey on the reality show.
Fans weren’t very happy with the decision of the judges. They were extremely disappointed that such a beautiful performance didn’t make the cut. A disgruntled fan wrote, "OH MY UNIVERSE!!!! Howie, Simon, Julianne, Gabriel, BIG BIG MISTAKE YOU LOSE ON THIS 1 U BEST BE CALLING MATTHEW BACK AND BEG YES I SAID BEG AND APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR HORRIFIC DECISION ON LETTING HIM GO!!! HE'S AN ACE IN A DECK OF JOKERS!!!"
Another fan shared, "I think this was a wrong decision! I wish Matthew all the success and I hope he gets the big break he deserves." Several fans are rallying on social media to bring him back as a wild card entry. A fan shared, "Weak first episode of Judge Cuts. A few pretty good acts, but the most robbed of not making the Top 7 was Matthew Richardson. He’s great. Bring him back as wildcard. #AGT."
The fact that he used a personal tragedy to create something so beautiful and spectacular is commendable.