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Gabrielle Union became a puppet on live TV — and the 'AGT' magician blamed it on a haunted chair

"I have nightmares about that psycho doll." 'AGT' judge is still haunted by Nicholas Wallace's magic trick.

'America's Got Talent' has had its fair share of magicians on the show, with each of them winning over the judges with their own unique flair. However, rarely, if ever, had the 'AGT' panel seen a magician combine horror with magic, and this is exactly what Nicholas Wallace did on season 14 of 'America's Got Talent.' Appearing in the 2023 auditions of the show, Wallace began his performance with an interesting narration: "Most people believe that the Quinte Hotel was haunted, but they were wrong. It wasn't the hotel; it was an inconspicuous piece of furniture."

Wallace proceeded to unveil a rocking chair as he continued speaking, "No one paid any attention to it until an elderly guest was found dead in the chair. It was soon after that the happenings began; the guests began hearing whispers and more death. The Quinte Hotel burned to the ground a few years ago, and this chair is one of the few things salvaged from the fire, and now it belongs to me." With undivided attention from both the audience and the judges, Wallace then asked Judge Gabrielle Union to come up on the stage.

What followed was a series of surreal and eerie events as the magician made Union quite literally his puppet. Wallace explained how a small doll had some weird connection with the chair as he blindfolded the 'AGT' judge and made her sit on the rocking chair. One small gesture he did, however, was that he adjusted a cushion behind her back on the chair before he sat. Once Union sat on the chair, Wallace made the judge mimic the actions of the doll as everyone seemed awestruck by what was unfolding in front of them.

In a report by Gold Derby, Wallace stated, "It was like 80% excitement and 20% nervous. I think it went quite well. I was watching the judges and the audience, and everyone seemed to be really into it and creeped out at the appropriate moments. I feel good." That said, some of the fans might have figured out the trick of how Wallace may have pulled off the trick. Well, to an extent. Remember the cushion Wallace put on the chair? Union was quite spooked and confused by the whole ordeal once the judges told her what was happening while she was blindfolded.

She went on to post about the act on X (formerly Twitter) as she put up a GIF of Wallace and Union with the caption reading, "This is randomly creepy and weird, and I have no idea how he did it. And I have nightmares about that psycho doll @nickwallacelive #agt." With everyone guessing in the comments what could've been, one user may have gotten the cake as they stated, "Something in the black cushion caused you to feel like you were being touched." This very much could be the case, as Wallace did adjust the cushion before Union sat down. That said, despite giving a stellar performance, Wallace was eliminated during the Judge Cuts round and did not advance to the live shows, as reported by USA Today.