When "America's Got Talent" announced that shock jock Howard Stern would replace irascible but witty Piers Morgan as a judge back in 2012, I was a little skeptical. I haven't listened to his radio show, but I keep up enough on the entertainment industry to know about it. I had also heard that he is actually a decent guy in real life and that the radio act is more of a persona.
Well, I gave him a chance, and I'm glad I did, because he's been the judge with whom I agree most often about the talent acts.
But it was what he did on Tuesday night that really showed his decency and compassion. Cross-dressing comedian Scott Heierman, having made it past the audition stage with a strong performance, was now trying to get to the semi-finals. After a bit of relaxed pre-act banter with the judges, he launched into his comedy routine ...
... and immediately crashed, forgetting his lines.
It was hard to watch, and I wondered if he would get the dreaded X from one or more judges. But he didn't. Instead, the judges let him know that it was all right. Howard emphasized that he understood how sometimes one just blanks on stage, and he reminded Heierman that his audition round performance was so strong it seemed effortless. After Heierman left the stage, Howard got up from the judges' table, followed him, and gave him more encouragement.
You can see the entire act here.
I'm really impressed at Howard's empathy and compassion.
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