Kristin Chenoweth Opens Up About TV Set Incident That Almost Killed Her

While filming an episode 'The Good Wife,' Chenoweth was involved in a near-fatal accident.

Kristin Chenoweth is revealing more details about The Good Wife accident that almost took her life a decade ago.

While filming on the set of the hit series in 2012, the actress was struck by a falling light fixture, which left her with chronic pain as a result. At the time, though, she was lucky to even be alive, and as she hits the promotional tour for her new book, I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts, she's revisiting that horrifying time in her life, and opening up about one of her biggest regrets: never suing the station for the preventable accident.

She stopped by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen this week, where they revisited the scary story, which she detailed in her novel released on Jan. 17.

Chenoweth has been somewhat open in the past about her regrets over electing not to take legal action against CBS for the incident, but when Cohen asked if she'd heard from anyone from the network since writing about the injuries—spoiler alert: she hasn't—they talked a bit more about her thought process after Cohen noted how "amazed" he was that she "didn't try to get some cash from them."

“I didn't do it out of fear and anxiety," she admitted, before advising the audience, "So don't ever let fear rule your life,” before agreeing with Cohen that she regretted letting the fear and anxiety win.

“I have long-standing injuries from that, so I wished I had listened to my dad, who said, ‘You're gonna wanna do this.’ And we're not the suing family,” she clarified. "But when you're practically killed, y'know," she trailed off, prompting Cohen to ask her to elaborate on what exactly happened.

She likened the lighting equipment involved to that of Cohen's studio. The actress was outside near a 7/11—which was very important due to her desire to partake in a free Slurpee day.

“I heard, like, a flagpole sound. I literally heard, ‘We’re losing the light.’ And I heard, ‘Action.’ And I woke up at Bellevue,” she recalled. “It hit me in the face and it threw me into a curb. Seven-inch skull fracture, hairline fracture, and teeth and ribs,” she shared, adding that her hair extensions, of all things, minimized the damage.

“My hair extensions, you know, made the hairline fracture go together. So my doctor said, ‘What are these metal things?’ And I said, ‘They’re hair extensions.’ And he said, ‘They saved your life. So, anyone who wants to get hair extensions should, for your health,” she joked, bringing some levity to the moment.

It's unfortunate that Chenoweth was held back from fighting for herself over concerns of backlash for speaking up, but, hopefully, the fact that she keeps the incident relevant by reinforcing her regret will give someone else the courage they need to stand up for themselves.