Christine Hurley, a 55-year-old mom who started doing comedy when she was 40, auditioned in front of the “America’s Got Talent” judges on Tuesday night with mixed results. She temporarily froze on the stage during a joke and then lost focus, proclaiming she “screwed that up” (watch above). Despite the gaffe, two judges — Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum — voted “yes” to advance her to the next round. However, the other two — Simon Cowell and Sofia Vergara — voted “no,” which sent her home. Did the judges make the right decision?
According to our recent poll results, a whopping 90% of “AGT” viewers voted that Christine deserves another chance because “she’s hilarious and she later recovered from her mistake.” As for the rest of the respondents, 8% said she shouldn’t return because “you get just one shot on ‘AGT'” and 2% claimed they’ll “have to think about it more.” Do you agree or disagree with these poll results? Sound off down in the comments section.
When Christine first stepped out on the “America’s Got Talent” stage, Sofia commented on her energetic personality, to which the comedian fired back, “That’s the medication!” She then explained, “I started doing comedy 15 years ago, the exact same time that ‘America’s Got Talent’ started, and I remember thinking, ‘Someday it’s gonna happen.'”
Christine earned big laughs when she turned to Simon and rasped, “Me-ow!” Backstage, host Terry Crews put “earmuffs” over her husband’s ears.
This mother of five children soon began her comedy routine, which included self-deprecating jokes about her physical look being the result of “SlimFast mixed with vodka” and poking fun at her kids’ meal habits. But then she hit a snag when she messed up a punchline, calling her husband by his real name and confusing everyone.
Simon grimaced at the conclusion of his act, clearly feeling her pain. Before making his “no” vote, the British judge explained, “Christine, as much as I like you, I’m not gonna lie. Based on that, I’m gonna say no.” Sofia also voted “no,” ending her “AGT” journey.
Christine felt deflated and walked backstage, and that’s when Howie rushed over and gave her a hug. “Listen, you’re really funny,” he told her. “You have the cadence, you have the personality, you have everything. I can’t tell you how rough I’ve had it. Even now I go blank. Don’t feel bad. We’re all human, right? But you’re a funny lady. You’re a lovely lady. Thank you so much for being here.”
Even after 15 years on the air, a stand-up comedian has never won “America’s Got Talent.” And it looks like Christine won’t be the first … unless the judges decide to give her a rare “wild card” spot.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s newsletter with experts’ latest predictions