Howard Stern made a seven year-old cry on AGT, but why are we blaming him?

[embedded content]A little seven year-old from Philadelphia, who goes by Mir Money, performed a rap song on Americas Got Talent last night. Judges Howard Stern and Sharon Osbourne both buzzed little Mir when he was performing, which is what theyre supposed to do when performances arent up to par. When it came time for Stern


A little seven year-old from Philadelphia, who goes by “Mir Money,” performed a rap song on America’s Got Talent last night. Judges Howard Stern and Sharon Osbourne both buzzed little Mir when he was performing, which is what they’re supposed to do when performances aren’t up to par. When it came time for Stern to explain why he buzzed Mir he was very kind and nice about it, but Mir broke down and started crying anyway. Again, the kid is seven. Stern then went up on stage to comfort Mir, explaining that he wasn’t cut out for the job. Outlets are running this story like Stern made the kid cry, and he sort-of did but it wasn’t his fault. Here’s more, thanks to The La Times:

There were the memorable acts. Those included …

Mir Money, a 7-year-old rapper from Philadelphia who charmed everyone by admitting he was his favorite rapper and that, were he to win $1 million, he’d use it to take care of his family.

So when Stern and fellow judge Sharon Osbourne buzzed the adorable tyke and he dissolved into tears, well, we might all have been a bit shaken up. (“He’s only 7!” my outraged 6-year-old daughter exclaimed.)

Stern hightailed it onto the stage to offer comforting words and a hug. “I’ll fix everything. Let me fix everything,” he told us. “I’m so sorry,” he told the kid. “I don’t want to make you cry.”

“This job is too rough for me,” the shock jock said. “I don’t want to do it anymore … I’m not cut out for this.”

Stern, that softie, then voted to send the kid to Vegas, but Osbourne and third judge Howie Mandel proved to have thicker skin and a better grasp of the long-term effects. No, they said, explaining that they had no wish to prolong the wee rapper’s pain.

[From The LA Times]

I have a seven year-old son, and to me this is kind-of like sending your kids to do pageants. It’s not Howard Stern’s fault that this poor little boy was crying, it’s his parents. They’re thrusting their little kid in front of the world in a way that’s potentially devastating for them.

I also blame the producers of America’s Got Talent. They shouldn’t be letting kids on this show, unless they’re a part of a troupe and are not singled out. There should be a cut off age in which kids can compete alone, say 15 or so. (But that number is kind of arbitrary, I understand.) Either way, a kid of seven is not emotionally equipped to perform on a national talent show.

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