The Masked Singer has hosted loads of in style actors, athletes and musicians through the years, however producers have sometimes discovered themselves in sizzling water over controversial contestants and different mishaps.
One of many Fox actuality present’s earliest controversies got here in March 2020 when Sarah Palin was unmasked because the Bear throughout season 3. The previous Alaska governor was the primary politician to take part within the collection, and never each fan was completely satisfied that the contestant pool had expanded outdoors of Hollywood.
“As if issues aren’t psychological sufficient, this night Sarah Palin was revealed as a Masked Singer,” one viewer tweeted on the time. “2020 is killing me, man.”
It didn’t assist issues that the Going Rogue creator was unmasked the identical day that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson introduced they have been identified with COVID-19 and the NBA introduced the suspension of the remainder of the 2019-2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Sarah Palin was simply revealed as one in all The Masked Singers and sure we’re totally dedicated to dystopia,” creator R. Eric Thomas wrote through Twitter on the time.
The previous vice presidential candidate, nonetheless, was solely the primary of many controversial contestants on The Masked Singer. In 2022, the present made headlines for together with Rudy Giuliani and Kirstie Alley in season 7. The previous New York Metropolis mayor has come beneath fireplace for his affiliation with Donald Trump, whereas the Cheers alum has raised eyebrows for her tendentious social media posts in regards to the coronavirus pandemic and the struggle between Russia and Ukraine.
Information of Giuliani’s participation leaked months earlier than his episode truly aired, with Deadline reporting in February 2022 that judges Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke walked off the set after his unmasking.
When the episode premiered two months later, it confirmed that the Hangover actor did depart the stage whereas Giuliani carried out out of his Jack within the Field costume. The “Blurred Strains” singer, in the meantime, wasn’t proven exiting the set, however he didn’t seem alongside fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy after they have been proven dancing to the previous lawyer’s efficiency.
One month after the episode aired, a Fox government mentioned that he had “completely no regrets” about casting the disgraced politician on the present. “The Masked Singer is all about delivering jaw-dropping moments, which is strictly what [we] achieved whether or not it was on set or with the viewers at residence,” Rob Wade, president of different leisure and specials at Fox Leisure, advised Deadline in Could 2022. “My solely remorse or shock was clearly that the reveal was spoiled.”
Preserve scrolling for a glance again at The Masked Singer‘s controversies through the years.