America's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell joked he's going to get fired after trying to steal Howie Mandel's Golden Buzzer for AIRFOOTWORKS during the Season 19 Live Show that aired Tuesday night on NBC.
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Simon already broke America's Got Talent's rules once this season by adding extra Golden Buzzers for Season 19, and he's done it again by stealing Howie's only buzzer for the Live Shows!
America's Got Talent featured 11 of the show's top 44 acts performing live for America's votes on Tuesday, and AIRFOOTWORKS, a group of four dancers and acrobats who create the illusion of dancing in air, wowed the audience with their performance to "Celestial" by Ed Sheeran.
AIRFOOTWORKS received a standing ovation from Simon, Howie and their fellow America's Got Talent judges Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara.
Speaking to America's Got Talent host Terry Crews, Simon, 64, announced, "Terry, I am just about to get myself fired."
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Simon then reached over the judges' table and hit the Golden Buzzer, prompting golden confetti to fall from above. AIRFOOTWORKS celebrated their victory as both Simon and Howie rushed to the stage.
Howie, however, had also tried to hit the Golden Buzzer for the act. Since Howie was supposed to be the only judge with a Golden Buzzer that evening, Terry declared that he needed to "clear this [mishap] up."
Terry announced, "Howie got there first! This is Howie's Golden Buzzer! Simon wants to take the credit! Howie, this was your Golden Buzzer; it was your night."
Howie, appearing to be in a bit of a panic, agreed.
"This is mine! This is mine! This is my Golden Buzzer!" Howie yelled.
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Howie then praised the group's creator Takashi Jonishi and told the group, "You guys are athletes, you guys are dancers, you guys are creators!"
Takashi thanked Howie and shared how this was a dream come true for his act.
"Okay, we're going to check the replay and find out who pressed the Golden Buzzer first when we come back!" Terry shouted.
After a commercial break, Terry explained to viewers that the Golden Buzzer for AIRFOOTWORKS did, in fact, belong to Howie.
A slow-motion replay of the incident showed Howie attempting to hit the Golden Buzzer as Simon jumped in and hit it as well.
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"Howie gets to it first but Simon tries to hit the Golden Buzzer... [Howie], it's really you," Terry clarifies.
"It is me, right?" Howie asked Terry. "I feel like I've been abused!"
Terry asked Simon to explain his behavior, and Simon replied, "Look, I think when you watch the tape back, you'll find that my finger got there just before Howie's -- so that's the way it is."
"Well, keep your fingers off of my buzzer!" Howie quipped in reply.
Prior to AIRFOOTWORKS' jaw-dropping performance, Takashi explained that his group was created after her suffered a back injury.
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"During rehab, I remember watching a workout video. The guy was holding himself up in the air and the idea of AIRFOOTWORKS was born," Takashi recalled.
After coming up with the idea, Takashi looked for people to join his group, and he discovered a hip-hop dancer, a breakdancer, and a street Calisthenics trainer.
"I want to show our style of dance to the world," Takashi said in the act's AGT intro package.
"We have seen the amazing and unique dance acts on this show. That's why we came to AGT. We want to win this... Tonight, the world will see AIRFOOTWORKS at its best."
AIRFOOTWORKS will now advance straight through to America's Got Talent finals. They'll join Hakuna Matata Acrobatics, who had received Sofia's Live Show Golden Buzzer during last week's episode.
The quarterfinals round will consist of four episodes in total, with 11 acts taking the stage each night for America's Got Talent judges.
Each AGT judge can hit the Golden Buzzer once during this stage of the competition, but most of the power is in America's hands considering they get to vote for their favorite acts.
Only four of the 11 acts in each episode will advance to the semifinals -- the Golden Buzzer and three of America's picks.
The three acts who received the highest number of America's votes on Tuesday night will be revealed Wednesday night at 8PM ET/PT as America's Got Talent's nineteenth season continues.
Once the quarterfinals round comes to a close, 12 acts will compete in the semifinals for only six spots in the finals, based on home viewers' votes.
Those six acts will then join the four Live Show Golden Buzzers and perform in America's Got Talent's two-night finale on Tuesday, September 17 and Tuesday, September 24 on NBC.