Ahren Belisle is a Canadian-American [1] stand-up comedian from North Bay, Ontario, [2] best known as a finalist in the eighteenth season of America's Got Talent . [3]
Belisle, who has cerebral palsy and performs his comedy through a speech synthesis app on his phone, was working as a software engineer when, on a vacation in Portugal, he attended a stand-up comedy show where he made the audience and the performers laugh with his witty heckling, and was encouraged to try comedy himself. [4] Later in the year he appeared on Tony Hinchcliffe's Kill Tony podcast, generating such a positive reaction that he was given a "Golden Ticket" to allow him to appear on the show anytime he wanted. [5] He was solicited by the producers of America's Got Talent to participate in the season, which aired in 2023. [5]
He has stated that performing through a text-to-speech app has both negative and positive aspects, as the technology sometimes messes up but the delay as he types builds up an extra layer of comedic tension. [6]
In 2024 he appeared in All Access Comedy , a stand-up comedy special hosted by D.J. Demers for AMI-tv to highlight comedians with disabilities. [7] He and the other performers on the special received an ensemble Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series at the 13th Canadian Screen Awards in 2025. [8]