‘The Masked Singer’ controversies through the years: Rudy Giuliani, more
The masked singer has hosted numerous popular actors, athletes, and musicians over the years, but producers have occasionally been in hot water over controversial contestants and other mishaps.
One of the Fox reality show’s first controversies came in March 2020 when Sarah Palin was exposed as the bear during season 3. The former governor of Alaska was the first politician to compete on the series, and not every fan was pleased that the contestant pool had expanded beyond Hollywood.
“As if things weren’t mental enough already, tonight Sarah Palin was revealed as a masked singer,” one viewer tweeted at the time. “2020 is killing me, man.”
It didn’t help that the go rogue author was exposed on the same day that Tom Hanks And Rita Wilson announced they had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and the NBA announced the suspension of the remainder of the 2019–20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Sarah Palin has just been revealed as one of The Masked Singers and yes, we are totally committed to dystopia,” the author wrote. R. Eric Thomas wrote via Twitter at the time.
However, the former vice presidential candidate was only the first of many controversial contestants The masked singer. In 2022, the show made headlines for, among others Rudy Giuliani And Kirsty Alley in season 7. The former mayor of New York City is under fire for his association with Donald TrumpWhile the cheers alum has raised eyebrows for her tendentious social media posts about the coronavirus pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
News of Giuliani’s participation leaked months before his episode actually aired deadline reporting in February 2022 those judges Ken Young And Robin Thicke walked off the set after his exposure.
When the episode premiered two months later, it confirmed that the Hangover actor left the stage while Giuliani performed out of his Jack in the Box costume. The “Blurred Lines” singer, meanwhile, was not shown leaving the set, but he did not appear alongside fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger And Jenny McCarthy when they were shown dancing to the former lawyer’s performance.
A month after the episode aired, a Fox executive said he had “absolutely no regrets” about casting the disgraced politician for the show. “The masked singer is all about delivering breathtaking moments, which is exactly what it is [we] achieved, whether on set or in viewers’ homes, Robert Wadesaid president of alternative entertainment and specials at Fox Entertainment deadline in May 2022. “Obviously my only regret or surprise was that the reveal was tainted.”
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Keep scrolling for a look back at The masked singercontroversies over the years.