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'The Masked Singer' keeps sending fan favorites home — and a sneaky new theory might explain why

After 13 seasons of untimely eliminations and theme-night exits, fans aren’t just suspicious, they’re convinced the whole thing’s rigged.

Since its debut in 2019, 'The Masked Singer' has earned its name as one of the most loved reality TV shows. However, 13 seasons down, fans can't help but recognize a pattern, suggesting that the show may be rigged. Fans are being increasingly convinced that contestants whose identities or careers match the night's theme are often the ones sent home. The suspicion intensified when, during season 11, contestant Ugly Sweater, who was revealed as Charlie Wilson, the music genius, got eliminated during the 'Queen Night' episode.

Fans expressed outrage, noting that Wilson's vocal prowess far surpassed that of other contestants, suggesting that his elimination served the thematic narrative rather than reflecting performance quality, as reported by The Sun. This isn't the first time the show has faced backlash for being rigged. In Season 9, a contestant, Bishop Briggs, under the guise of Medusa, advanced to the finals despite fan criticism of her performances. Speculating that her continued success was due to a compelling backstory crafted by producers, rather than audience votes, an X user wrote, "This season of #TheMaskedSinger is rigged. There's no WAY Medusa has made it this far! She should have been kicked in her first, MAYBE second round. If she wins."

However, it's interesting to note that the backlash centered more on the elimination of themed night episodes. In a Reddit thread title, "Are certain themed night episodes planned to have an elimination of their occupation?" A 'The Masked Singer' viewer remarked, "I feel like in S8 they make the contestants join based on their occupation or something." Pointing out two other examples, a netizen wrote, "Sea Queen making the final over Tiki was an obviously scripted elimination thanks to Rock Night, and also Macy Gray being an overpaid diva. Bubble Tea was the worst in her UK episode, so honestly I can believe that elimination was real; her sing-off performance was pretty awful vs. Owl's, which got the crowd singing along and was super fun."

Adding to the list an eagle-eyed viewer dropped, many contestant names who were wrongly favoured on the show, "For US, often yes. For example, Season 8, Vegas Night: Jeff Dunham (Has a show in Vegas); TV Theme Night: Mummies (for their show The Brady Bunch), Daymond John (TV Star of Shark Tank); Andrew Lloyd Webber Night: Mario Cantone (musical singer), Gloria Gaynor (Legendary Singer that is the same legend as Lord Webber); 90s Night: Joey Lawrence (90s Singer); Hall of Fame Night: George Foreman and George Clinton (Both Legends and Hall of Famers in their league); Comedy Roast Night: Adam Carolla (Comedian); Fright Night: Linda Blair (legendary horror actress), Sir Bugaboo (Legendary Singer and Writer of the Ghostbusters theme song)."

No wonder fans saw the warning signs back in Season 8, when the show introduced immediate eliminations and heavily themed nights. According to ScreenRant, viewers slammed the season as the worst yet, arguing that the new format stripped away contestant individuality and robbed audiences of the chance to connect with the performers. While producers continue to insist the show is fair, fans keep stacking evidence to the contrary.