The Masked Singer finally showed the moment Rudy Guiliani was unmasked on the show, and producers handled the reveal in the most “Masked Singer” way possible. What I mean by that is, they went all out on editing in way that you can’t really tell what actually went down on set. This includes playing down the moment judge Ken Jeong stormed off set in protest, with Robin Thicke reportedly not long behind (more so to check on Jeong than to protest Guiliani’s casting).
The Masked Singer insanely edits its show, to the point where viewers should always question whether crowd reaction footage, audience noise and shots of/comments from the judges are actually from the performance being portrayed (and in they happened in the order presented). The show even admits they use crowd shots from previous seasons in a disclaimer included in its credits. All these tricks make it really hard to determine what actually happened when the legal advisor to former president Donald Trump was shown on stage, but here’s how it played out on the show.
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The judges panel appeared to be stumped by this reveal, with the judges firing off wrong guesses like Al Roker, Robert Duvall and Joe Pesci. Jeong seemed to hamming it up extra, offering one of his more comedic guesses, opting for Telsa exec Elon Musk. The audience, judges and host Nick Cannon reacted awkwardly and were shocked. Jeong seemed obviously displeased. He let out a murmured negative when Nicole Scherzinger didn’t recognize Guiliani and asked the comic if the man on stage was Duvall.
Jeong is next shown in a wide shot as Thicke awkwardly declares, “This is definitely something I never would have guessed.” Jenny McCarthy is over-the-top shocked, Scherzinger politely stands there before asking a question, but Jeong is shown with his arms crossed, obviously upset. He’s shown displeased in another wide-shot, before eventually saying “I’m done” as the former mayor of New York begins to sing unmasked. He then walks off the stage.
Thicke somehow magically disappears in the next shot of the judges’ desk. While it was reported that he followed Jeong off stage, it is not shown in the final product. Viewers only see McCarthy and Scherzinger dancing supportively to Guiliani behind the desk. Nothing is shown backstage and if Jeong took any other action of displeasure while on the stage, editors removed it. It’s all very done in a brief manner, leaving questions about how the judges and audiences members really felt about the reveal.