This Ontario standup comic has made America’s Got Talent without saying a word | CBC News

Ahren Belisle can’t talk because he’s living with cerebral palsy, but that hasn’t stopped the Canadian standup comic from landing a spot on America’s Got Talent.

Belisle, who grew up in Bonfield and North Bay in northern Ontario, uses a text-to-speech app on his phone for his stage routine.

The 28-year-old’s television debut on NBC’s America’s Got Talent is set for Tuesday night, although the widely popular show has already released his audition on its social media channels.

Spoiler alert: all four judges approved of his set and gave him “yes” votes.

“You have a grasp of timing and humour,” said judge Howie Mandel, a fellow Canadian.

“You open up the conversation, and normalize humanity and originality. And you’re funny.”

Longtime judge Simon Cowell asked Belisle if he has a day job, to which Belisle replied, through his app and after a long pause: “I’m an engineer.”

Cowell said the performance will change his life.

Belisle told CBC’s Morning North that he became a standup comic after a trip to Portugal.

“I went to a charity comedy night at a café,” he said using his text-to-voice app.

“Apparently I was heckling and the comics thought I was hilarious. So they told me I should try comedy.”

That was one year ago.

Belisle said he spends a lot of time in Ottawa, where he has a good relationship with the Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club.

His America’s Got Talent appearance came after producers saw a TikTok video of his routine that had gone viral.

“It was a lot easier and better than I imagined,” Belisle said about performing on the show.

“I thought I would be under a lot of rules and they would tell me to do things, but honestly, they really did let me be me. And if you saw my audition, they definitely let me be edgy.”

A lot of Belisle’s humour stems from his experiences living with cerebral palsy, and how people around him react to a person with a disability.

In his skit, for instance, he says he used to have the word “handicapped” on his social media bio, and pokes fun at a woman who messaged him saying he needed to change “handicapped,” which is “offensive,” to “disabled.” (In the video with this story, you’ll see the comedic way Belisle handled her comments.)

Belisle said his goals are to keep touring and make people laugh, and eventually get his green card to more easily work and perform in the U.S.

LISTEN | Ahren Belisle explains how his text-to-voice program is helping him live his dream of being a comic: