'The Masked Singer' took a wild turn when a judge stormed off set — all thanks to Jack in the Box's reveal
'The Masked Singer' judge Ken Jeong was left speechless after an unmasking on the Fox singing show! During an April 2022 episode of 'The Masked Singer', judges Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Jeong got the chance to meet the final group of contestants, including Baby Mammoth, Jack in the Box, The Prince, Space Bunny, and Queen Cobra for the first time. During the episode, The Prince sang 'La Copa de La Vida' by Ricky Martin, Baby Mammoth performed Patsy Cline's 'Walkin' After Midnight', Jack in the Box sang 'Bad to the Bone' by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Queen Cobra warbled Lizzo's 'Good as Hell' and Space Bunny covered Harry Belafonte's 'Jump in the Line'.
After the judging panel and the fans casted their votes for their favorite performance, Nick Cannon, the host of the beloved singing show revealed that Jack in the Box whose clues included a football with a four-leaf clover on it, a space shuttle and a gavel, had received the lowest votes and would be unmasked in the episode. The esteemed judges guessed that Jack in the Box could be Robert Duvall, Joe Pesci, Elon Musk, or Al Roker. However, none of the judges got it right, as President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani was beneath the mask.
Speaking of the big reveal, Thicke said, "This is definitely something I never would have guessed." On the other hand, McCarthy mentioned that she "had no idea" about Giuliani's identity. Soon afterward, Cannon told Giuliani, "With all of the controversy that's surrounding you right now, I think it surprises us all that you're here on The Masked Singer." For the unversed, Giuliani was amidst an ongoing federal investigation for his involvement with Ukraine at the time. As per US Weekly, Scherzinger also failed to recognise Giuliani and asked Jeong, "Is that Robert Duvall?" to which 'The Hangover' star responded, saying, “No, that’s not Robert Duvall.” However, Jeong appeared visibly unhappy with the reveal and didn’t smile once. When Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, began his performance at the end of the episode, Jeong remarked, “I’m done,” and walked off the stage.
During an interview with People magazine, a source close to the set shed light on Jeong's decision to walk off by saying, "Ken was super upset and indeed stormed out. Robin actually followed him because he and Ken are very close friends, and he wanted to check on him. Robin didn't storm out because of Giuliani. Ken felt disrespected and was livid to see that Rudy was under the mask, which is why he walked off. There's no way he could hide his feelings." For the unversed, Jeong, who previously worked as a doctor in Los Angeles for several years, wasn't happy with Giuliani's past actions. In 2020, Giuliani was a part of the administration that mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic. The insider continued, "Ken has been incredibly vocal about how the previous administration handled many things, but especially COVID-19, and has found a lot of what they've said not only wrong but dangerous. To get someone who helped to spread misinformation and call into question the accuracy of our election and democracy to appear on his show was going to set him off."
According to a report by Deadline, both Jeong and Thicke walked off the set after Giuliani's unmasking on 'The Masked Singer'. In the episode, Thicke wasn’t shown leaving the stage, but he was noticeably absent during the performance, while Scherzinger and McCarthy danced enthusiastically. However, when Cannon asked Giuliani why he decided to compete on 'The Masked Singer,' the politician replied, "I guess the main reason is, I just had a granddaughter, Grace, and I want her to know that you should try everything, even things that are completely unlike you and unlikely. And I couldn't think of anything more unlike me and unlikely than this. And I enjoy the show. I have for years. And it just seemed like it'd be fun. I don't get to have a lot of fun."
