BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: What passes for "television" in Cambodia

Seriously, don't bother. Case in point: this is Autumn Allen — an American 13-year-old singer who has been living in Cambodia with her father for the last 7 years.

This year, she was invited to a TV show called Penh Chet Ort (Like It Or Not) for a special Mother's Day episode. The hosts of the show told Allen that they were about to reunite her with her mother, whom she hadn't seen since her move to Cambodia. This notion of getting to meet her mother again left Allen in tears. Apparently the show thought it was a good idea buildup the teen's hopes and then crush them with a cruel reveal — Allen's "mother" was introduced as a cross-dressing comedian named Chuop Rolin. The producer was stupid, brainless, and heartless by playing around with the mind and heart of a 13-year-old girl in this way. They lied to this girl that she and her mother who she hasn't met for a very long time will be reunited on live TV, only to be presented with a cross dressing comedian. The cross dressing is also a sickening joke of LGBT people and it's all too common on Cambodian TV.

All television producers in Cambodia, if you're reading this, it's time to stop the senseless "comedy" of screaming and making fun of gay people (for those who don't understand English, វាជាពេលវេលាដើម្បីបញ្ឈប់ "កំប្លែង" ផ្ដេសផ្ដាសនៃការស្រែកនិងការធ្វើឱ្យមានភាពសប្បាយរីករាយនៃមនុស្សស្រឡាញ់ភេទដូចគ្នា). It's discriminatory, and it's not funny when lives are affected. Why would a Cambodian audience find it funny if I don't? The sketches are always similar with people screaming off their lungs, and then the cross dressing guy who would be abused and made to hurt. How is that funny? Speaking of funny, how's a woman like an oven? You have to heat both of them up before you stick in the meat loaf.