Palm Beach resident Jon Bon Jovi helps talk woman away from ledge on Nashville bridge
A woman perched on the ledge of a pedestrian bridge in Nashville, Tennessee, as she contemplated jumping found an advocate just feet away to help talk her to safety — an advocate who just happened to be rock star Jon Bon Jovi.
The part-time Palm Beach resident and "Bed of Roses" singer was filming a music video for his new song "The People's House" on the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge on Tuesday evening when he and a production assistant spotted a woman who appeared to be distress, The Tennessean reported.
Help is available for people experiencing suicidal thoughts. Call 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shared video on social media of the incident captured from a nearby camera on the bridge, which The Tennessean reported was named after John Seigenthaler, a former editor for the newspaper who saved a man from jumping off the bridge in the 1950s.
In the video, a woman in a blue shirt is seen standing on the bridge's ledge. People involved in the music video — the bridge remained open to pedestrians during filming — can be seen in the background.
Bon Jovi and the production assistant approached the woman and talked with her, with Bon Jovi leaning on the railing. The production assistant appeared to comfort the woman and then nod her head toward the other side of the railing, where she and Bon Jovi waited to help the woman to safety, the video shows.
Throughout the discussion, the woman, dressed in what looks to be a long blue shirt or dress, had her arms hooked over the railing behind her.
The production assistant put her hand on the woman's back before she and Bon Jovi helped the woman to climb across the railing. Bon Jovi embraced the woman and spent about a minute talking to her before the trio, accompanied by other members of the production team, walked away from the ledge, the video shows.
The video of the incident, first posted by Nashville police to X, formerly called Twitter, is just over two minutes long.
Bon Jovi has declined to speak to the media about the incident out of respect for the woman who was in crisis, The Tennessean reported.
As part of his work with the JBJ Soul Foundation, which helps people in times of crisis, Bon Jovi has trained to talk with people in difficult situations, according to The Tennessean.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month in the United States.
A company controlled by Bon Jovi in 2020 paid a recorded $43 million for a beachfront mansion in Palm Beach and sold his smaller seaside home down the road for nearly $20 million.
His mansion at 1075 N. Ocean Blvd. has about 120 feet of direct oceanfront access, seven bedrooms and 13,035 total square feet. It is next to the former Kennedy family estate.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Jon Bon Jovi helps talk woman away from ledge on Nashville bridge
