When 63 year old comedian Julia Scotti appeared on America’s Got Talent, the judges didn’t realize what they were about to experience. The aggressive jokester pulled no punches with her routine, wowing audience and judges alike.

But when Scotti revealed that she was assigned male at birth, no one laughed. While trans folk have long the butt of comedians’ jokes, for once, Scotti’s medical history was unimportant. What mattered most was that she is – undeniably – talented.