Outrage over cruel Mother's Day TV prank

The 13-year-old girl was fooled into thinking she was going to be reunited with her mum. Photo / YouTube

A television prank in which a 13-year-old girl was fooled into thinking she was going to be reunited with her mum, but met a man in drag instead, has been slammed by social media users.

Singer Autumn Allen, who moved to Cambodia with her father when she was 6, leaving her mother behind, was invited on to the MyTV variety show Penh Chet Ort (Like It Or Not) and told she would meet her mother.

On the show, a Mother's Day Special, a tearful Autumn told the presenters that meeting her mother again would be a "dream come true".

Eventually, however, it was cross-dressing comedian Chuop Rolin who appeared on stage, not Autumn's mother, The Phnom Penh Post reported.

'What are you thinking, did you think it was real?' one of the presenters asked the girl.

A giggling Autumn replied: "I don't know."

After the show was aired internet users blasted it for exploiting Autumn's emotions for comedy purposes.

Kanika Chhit wrote on Facebook: "Such a brainless and shameful trick from MYTV! How can you play with her feeling like this?"

Human rights activist Ou Virak weighed in, too, calling the producers "brainless".

He said: "The producer was stupid and brainless and heartless by playing around with the mind and heart of a 13 years old girl in this way."

Autumn was remarkably good humored about the prank, telling the Post that she "had fun doing the show", despite feeling "initially disappointed" that she didn't meet her mum.

She added that she misses her mother, who she thinks lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The makers of the show said they would apologise for the stunt.

Producer Taboi admitted that it was a "mistake".

- Daily Mail