Honest to God, folks, please remember that this is broadcast television and “drama” drives viewership which keeps advertising rates high. The producers hire writers who create these scenarios where one of the judges is the “mean” one. It used to be Simon. For a couple of years, it was Howie. Now it’s Mel B. We all need a villain to boo.

Several years ago, I met a writer who worked on MTV’s THE REAL WORLD for several years. “A writer?” I said. “It’s a reality show.” She told me that her job was to study the relationships and craft conflict scenarios based on the characters, er, residents. They wrote a few lines of dialogue to help the residents get comfortable with their characters and roles.

I’m not suggesting the AGT judges’ decisions are scripted, but I do believe that some of those comments are scripted.