Cheeky old man's controversial audition

Every now and then a special kind of person comes in and steals the limelight on a talent show like 'America's Got Talent'.

This year, that crown belongs to 84-year-old white-haired, moustachioed Ray Jessel.

When the elderly performer took to the stage to perform his original song "What She's Got" – it's safe to say judges - Heidi Klum, Mel B, Howard Stern, and Howie Mandel - were all expecting something a little more… wholesome.

Instead, what they got was a gender-bending tune based around a man meeting a "girl" only to discover "She's got a penis".

While the audience erupted into laughter and all four judges gave Mr Jessel the green-tick of approval to move forward into the next round, his performance has left a bad taste in some mouths.

A petition has already been issued on Change.com entitled "Renounce, and remove the performance from the contestant Ray Jessel insulting transgender people."

The petition was created by Alison Demzon who called Mr Jessel's performance "abhorrent".

"A man by the name of Ray Jessel came on stage and charmed the audience by singing about how wrong it is to be transgender; and is in fact ridicule-worthy.

"I for one would think that this would have been rejected, not broadcast, and called out for the abhorrent transphobia and support of the hate that all LGBT people face every day around the world."

So far 28 people have signed the petition.

Source: YouTube, Change.com

Author: Natasha Lee, Approving editor: Nick Pearson