‘Masked Singer’ Spoiler: Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong Storm off Stage After Controversial Contestant Reveal

The Masked Singer Season 7 premiere reportedly features an unmasking so controversial that two members of the judging panel stormed off in protest. The episode was taped last week, and the reveal prompted Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke to leave the stage immediately. The episode will not air until next month, if at all. Spoilers ahead.

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City Mayor who was front and center in President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on false claims, was reportedly unmasked during the taping last week, reports Deadline. The outlet did not reveal which costume Giuliani wore, but noted that the theme for Season 7 is “The Good, The Bad, and the Cuddly.” After he took off his mask, Jeong and Thicke left, but they later returned. Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger never left and reportedly “bantered” with Giuliani.

Fox declined to comment on Deadline‘s report. TMZ also confirmed Giuliani was the first celebrity unmasked. The song he performed has not been reported. This is not the first time The Masked Singer has featured a controversial figure in Republican politics, as Sarah Palin participated in Season 3. None of the judges left the stage when Palin’s identity was revealed.

Giuliani is also not the first member of the Trump circle to participate in a game show. In 2019, former Press Secretary Sean Spicer competed on Dancing With the Stars, a decision that then-host Tom Bergeron publicly criticized. In a statement to fans, Bergeron said he hoped DWTS could be a show to provide entertainment outside of being a political lightning-rod, but ABC went in a different direction.

“It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise,” Bergeron wrote at the time. “We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call. I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions.” The Spicer season turned out to be Bergeron’s last, as he was replaced by Tyra Banks for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

The Masked Singer Season 7 is set to debut on Fox on March 9. Nick Cannon is returning as host. The costumes for six of the contestants were revealed last week. The “good” group includes the Frog Prince, while the “bad” group includes a green cyclops and a centurion. The “cuddly” group includes a lemur and an astronaut rabbit.