‘AGT’ fans slam judges for approving Ryland The Kid Magician’s simple tricks: ‘What a scam'

Ryland The Kid Magician's performance earned a yes from all four judges
UPDATED JUN 28, 2023
'AGT' auditioner Ryland The Kid Magician is a former 'Britain's Got Talent' semi-finalist (TraePatton/NBC)
'AGT' auditioner Ryland The Kid Magician is a former 'Britain's Got Talent' semi-finalist (TraePatton/NBC)

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: Ryland The Kid Magician wowed the judges at the Season 18 auditions on Tuesday, June 27. However, viewers were not impressed by Ryland's performance, claiming that he conned them.

Ryland Petty is a magician who made it to the semi-finals of 'Britain's Got Talent' Series 15. At the time of his audition, he was a nine-year-old child from Staffordshire. When Ant and Dec questioned him backstage about why he decided to audition, he responded that he had wanted to do so since he was four years old. He now walked the stage for 'America's Got Talent,' where he wowed an even larger crowd.


 
 
 
 
 
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'Skip school, go straight to Vegas'

Ryland, a young magician from England, did a magic act and disclosed that he sneaked into the venue before the event to put the word "scam" in invisible ink across the judges' panel. Ryland, 10, has been practicing magic since he was two years old. He invited many "friends" to join him onstage to act as aides for his magic tricks. The act included numbers and images, as well as matching up photos given to the judges at the start.

Heidi Klum described him as "outstanding," while Howie Mandel thought he was "funny and talented". Sofia Vergara stated, "That was so much fun for us." Simon Cowell was so impressed with the performance that he stated, "Ryland, you have almost given me my voice back." "You really have magic powers," he said, continuing with, "Skip school, go straight to Vegas." Simon made no indication that he previously knew the child.


 
 
 
 
 
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'Already bored and annoyed of his voice'

Reacting to Ryland taking the 'AGT' stage, one viewer sighed, "Great, another British child magician. Hurrrrrrrrrrr." One person criticized the act, saying, "Ryland was great but act was a tad too long." A third user also said, "What a scam wow," while another angry viewer reacted, "And y’all fell for it. Stop voting acts through that aren’t going anywhere."



 



 



 



 

On Reddit, fans shared similar emotions. Under a thread, one person commented, "This kid was on BGT. Another boring kid magician with simple tricks that anyone can learn in 15 minutes." While another said, "English accent plus nervous fast talking kid = not a good act for a U.S. audience." One user quipped, "Oh great a kid magician, the x button magically wont work." Another user noted, "Ugh another kid magician. Already bored and annoyed of his voice."

New episodes of 'America's Got Talent' Season 18 air every Tuesday on NBC at 8 pm ET.

RELATED TOPICS AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (2006)

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