James Austin Johnson has achieved another Saturday Night Live milestone this week, though probably not one anyone hopes for: he was injured mid-show.
As some eagle-eyed viewers noticed, the SNL performer was on crutches for goodnights at the close of last night’s Walton Goggins-hosted episode.
LateNighter has learned that Johnson injured his foot slipping while in costume for last night’s live sketch, “The Second Amendment.”
Ironically, the sketch wasn’t a physical one in any sense. “The Second Amendment” saw Johnson standing behind a table the entire time as he played James Madison, dressed in politicians’ garb of 1789, penning the Bill of Rights.
It’s not clear whether he had already injured himself at that point, but as Johnson revealed to fans outside 30 Rock later in the evening, he apparently slipped in the heels he had been wearing for the sketch, injuring his foot.
Indeed, when next he appeared on the show at goodnights, Johnson could be seen hanging back in the crowd of cast members leaning on crutches, ultimately raising them in the air during the last seconds of the show.
Thank you, Walton Goggins, Arcade Fire, Cecily Strong, and Walton's mama! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/e4T974Ty6n
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 11, 2025
LateNighter’s podcast partner the Saturday Night Network was the first to report on Johnson’s injury in our live after show.
Johnson, who had earlier appeared as Donald Trump in the cold open, didn’t appear in any live sketches after the “Second Amendment” sketch. Per the SNN, Johnson was set to appear in a cut-for-time sketch later in the show, titled “Bullying Assembly.” It’s not clear whether Johnson’s mishap had anything to do with the sketch being cut.
In-show injuries are nothing new for Saturday Night Live, whose cast members have fallen victim to the occupational hazards of physical comedy since its earliest days. Chevy Chase famously injured himself in the show’s Season 2 premiere toppling over a podium as Gerald Ford. Chase injured his groin, forcing him to miss the next two episodes.
Johnson’s is the first known instance of a mid-show injury since Season 41, when Leslie Jones tore her ACL in a 2016 “Shanice Goodwin: Ninja” sketch.
With the extent of Johnson’s injury unclear, time will tell if it affects his ability to participate in next week’s Season 50 finale.
Oh gee, what if he can’t do his tiresome Trump shtick next week?
I’m almost as sick of him and his Trump as I am sick of the real thing.
When it comes to SNL injuries, how could you forget John Belushi accidentally cutting Buck Henry’s forehead during “Samurai Stockbroker,” leading to Buck and the rest of the cast wearing bandages at goodnights?
https://youtu.be/V5RmkYUqePk?si=sCs8TanDrKalTlP3