Okay, time for a confession from someone who'd like to think of himself as a socially-aware gay Asian-American ... I kinda liked William Hung back in the day. While I completely agreed with every essay that detailed how he was being used to reinforce stereotypes, I also found his verve kinda catchy.

Watching the latest episode of America's Got Talent, I found myself feeling the same way about Leonid the Magnificent, who made several appearances last year and appeared in last night's episode. If you're not familiar with Leonid, he usually wears some sort of flamboyant and revealing outfit with feathers and sparkly things. His performances are usually some sort of trainwreck mix of okay dancing and terrible acrobatics -- when he performed a sword-balancing act, he dropped the sword, leaving everyone cringing, and his most recent performance saw him get his head piece tangled when he was supposed to rise above the stage.

Leonid doesn't have the kind of talent the show is seeking (he does have charisma and a skill for spectacle, however) but he has that same a determined spirit that made me kinda like William Hung. And his failures are spectacular enough to cross over from "bad" to "so bad its good."

But, still, I can see that, while the audience has become supportive of him, it's a very patronizing support. He's the freakish gay guy, a joke similar to the way William Hung brought Asian stereotypes to life. Last year he made it to the semi-finals partly by begging for additional chances, and this year it seems he made it to the second round of auditions with a more confrontational attitude, telling David Hasselhoff, "I get so sick to beg people to accept me." to the cheers of the audience. I enjoy seeing his performances, but I suspect that I'm enjoying it differently than the majority of the audience.

Below is a clip of one of Leonid's appearances from last season (the clip has been tellingly titled "Russian Freak in America"), and in re-watching that clip it's the glimpses of the audience shocked and cringing that stands out to me. Interestingly, compare it to the video of his recent performance, which lacked those images. What do you think? Does the audience just enjoy seeing a freaky gay guy here? Does the change from season to season signify a change in how the producers see it?