Arkansas family night at the circus ends at the hospital after one horrifying encounter with a clown

A year ago, a family visited Garden Bros Circus in Little Rock, Arkansas. Per BroBible, what was supposed to be a fun celebration for a child’s birthday ended with a trip to the emergency room after a circus act went terribly wrong, leaving the father with a stab wound.

TikTok user JaLeisa Haynes (@jleisa.haynes) recently shared a video of the incident, which has already garnered over 252,000 views. The clip shows her husband on stage during a circus performance. The act involved putting a bag over his head, with a clown then pretending to throw a knife between his legs. An assistant was then supposed to simply stab the knife into the stage between the man’s legs, but the trick didn’t go as planned.

“Its the one year Anniversary of when my husband was stabbed in the leg AT THE CIRCUS,” Haynes wrote in the video’s caption. “Like really! I didnt even know they used real knives. Needless to say he wont be a volunteer for anything ever again.” 

I now have a new reason to never volunteer anywhere

In a comment, Haynes confirmed that her husband is now “doing fine.” When asked if they sued the circus, she revealed that they are “currently battling now.” She didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the legal actions they’re pursuing, but it is likely a personal injury or negligence claim.

Haynes had originally detailed the incident on Facebook shortly after it happened. “So Feb 7th my husband and I took the family out to Garden Bros Circus in Little Rock for our youngest child bday,” her post read. “What should’ve been an awesome family night with dinner to follow turned into an ambulance ride and a 4.5 hr stay in the emergency room.” 

“My husband was chosen from the crowd to volunteer in a skit which ended with him being stabbed in the leg, sprawled out on the gravel outside the circus, and a very expensive ambulance ride. What a way to ruin family night. Needless to say I dont think any of our children feel the same about the circus again,” she concluded, and honestly, I can’t blame them one bit.

Generally, you’d expect circus stunts to be more about illusion and careful control than genuine danger. Performers usually want to keep doing their shows, so they typically avoid anything too risky that could jeopardize their ability to perform or, even worse, harm an audience member. However, mistakes do happen.

The comments on Haynes’ Facebook post showed just how shocked people were. One commenter summarized it best, saying, “I thought that was part of the skit!!! Was the clown drunk how could you miss that close!!!!! And stabbed that man hard surely they paying for that! They have insurance to cover that type of thing too ???” 

Usually, circuses are dangerous for the performers, but then again, anything with knives is dangerous, so getting it near a volunteer or near school children is just unfathomable.