Jonathan Allen, who was disowned by his family because he's gay,
wowed on Tuesday's episode of the NBC reality series America's Got
Talent.
In an interview, Allen said that his family kicked him out on his
18th birthday.
“When I turned 18, they decided to kick me out for being gay.
On my birthday. On my birthday. It was crazy,” Allen said.
“My parents, they were very supportive of my music until they
found out I was gay. When I came out to my parents, that kind of
stopped. They couldn't accept me. I haven't seen them in
two-and-a-half, three years now. Right now, I'm living in a hotel,
working in a restaurant, trying to make ends met, and pursuing my
dreams.”
Allen first debuted on the show in June.
“Since the show, I've gotten emails, tweets – just very
encouraging. It's life changing.”
Allen brought down the house with his rendition of The
Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha. (The video is
embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)