AUTUMN ALLEN IS a 13-year-old American singer-songwriter who is living and working in Cambodia.
Last Sunday, she appeared on the Cambodian TV show Penh Chet Ort (Like It Or Not) as part of a segment for Mother’s Day.
The hosts told Allen that they had found her mother, whom the singer hasn’t seen since she left the US with her father at six years of age. An emotional Allen said it was “a dream come true” and shared some memories of her mother with the audience.
According to the Phnom Penh Post, after a long build-up, Allen’s ‘mother’ was revealed to be a local comedian dressed up in a wig.
Watch Allen’s segment here:
The presenters asked Allen if she really thought her mother would be on the show – she nervously giggled and said: “I don’t know.”
There was an immediate backlash to the ‘prank’ on social media, with viewers saying it was “brainless and heartless playing around with the mind” of a 13-year-old in that way.
A spokesman for the show admitted it was a “mistake” – they just wanted to “make [Allen] smile”, he said.
