'Absolutely horrified!' Britain's Got Talent fans slam show as satirical adult musical Avenue Q opens live semi-final
The 'raunchy' musical is not suitable for kidsBritain’s Got Talent fans were shocked to see a performance from adult musical Avenue Q open tonight’s live semi-final of the family show.
The cast and puppets from the West End production performed a song on stage as the third semi-final of the series kicked off.
But parents watching at home with their children were unimpressed.
Despite it featuring puppets similar to Jim Henderson’s The Muppets, Avenue Q is not suitable for children.
It is often described as an X-rated, adult-oriented parody of Sesame Street.
Avenue Q features songs including Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist and The Internet Is for Porn.
The official website for the musical has a parental advisory notice for explicit lyrics.
Britain’s Got Talent fans fury at Avenue Q performance
Thankfully, tonight’s opening performance from the Avenue Q stars did not feature either of the aforementioned songs.
Their tamer performance did, however, feature a pause where one character was meant to swear. The cast also sung about ‘death, taxes and Botox’.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer raged: “Now tell the audience what Avenue Q is about… Not so cute now is it?”
Another added: “‘Except for death and taxes…’ is this for kids?”
A third said: “Me finding out that this musical that is famous for the ‘The Internet is really great for p**n’ song is being promoted on Britain’s got talent’s opening.”
And a fourth pointed out: “This is pretty much the only Avenue Q that can be performed before the watershed…. I’m hoping they do Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist or The Internet Is For Porn later on…”
Someone else even wrote: “The amount of kids that are going to want to see Avenue q now based on that #britainsgottalent performance only to be absolutely horrified.”
Britain’s Got Talent third semi-final
Tonight (May 9, 2026) is the third live semi-final of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent series. Eight acts are returning to the stage in a bid to get through to the Grand Final.
They are Antigravity, Liwei Yang, The Lux City Choir, Niamh Noade, Mega Unity and Mizuki. Playground and Ted Hill complete the line-up.
As well as Avenue Q, Westlife are also taking to the stage for a special performance. Fans will, however, notice that Mark Feehily is missing from the group. Mark is currently taking time out of Westlife for health reasons.
