Trans comedian gets standing ovation on America’s Got Talent (VIDEO)
Julia Scotti from New Jersey won four yeses from the judges.
America’s Got Talent contestant Julia Scotti got a standing ovation last week, following her hilarious stand-up comedy routine.
The 63-year-old got four yeses from judges Simon Cowell, Melanie Brown, Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum, which means she’ll go through to the next round of the talent show.
Julia, who started doing stand-up at the age of 28, quit after 20 years to become a teacher.
When judge Howie Mandel asked her why she quit, she responded: “For the first 28 years of my life I was known as Rick Scotti. So this is big for me.”
After revealing that she was assigned male at birth, Julia was met with an emotional applause from both the audience and judges.
“Whether you’re a man, or whether you’re a woman, you’re human,” Mandel replied, “And you’re funny! And you’re talented! And you’re brave, and I am so glad we got to see you.”
Simon Cowell added: “You genuinely made me laugh, because you were really shocking.”
Watch Julia’s hilarious routine below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HxkZNX9r_0]
Last year, America’s Got Talent singer Branden James revealed that he is HIV-positive.
The opera singer, who was a finalist on the eighth series of the talent competition in 2013, opened up about living with HIV in an interview with ATeen.
“I kept it a deep dark secret to everyone except the trusted few,” Branden said. “Fast forward 10 years and here I am now. I’ve decided that I can’t allow myself to feel isolated anymore.”
