Judge walks off as Giuliani appears on The Masked Singer
The moment that has been rumoured for months finally arrived: Rudolph W. Giuliani appeared on, and then was voted off, The Masked Singer on Wednesday night.
Giuliani, Donald Trump's former personal attorney whose licence to practice law was suspended in New York and Washington after he made baseless claims of voter fraud and conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, appeared on the Fox reality competition dressed in an elaborate Jack in the Box costume.
“Is that Robert Duvall?” judge Jenny Mccarthy exclaimed when Giuliani was unmasked, after he was deemed the least talented singer following a performance of Bad to the Bone. Duvall was one of the previous guesses from the judging panel (Mccarthy, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger), along with Elon Musk and Al Roker.
“No,” Jeong said, looking unamused. “That's not Robert Duvall.”
Indeed, no one guessed Giuliani, even with a clue during his introductory package hinting at the “four seasons,” which some might remember from a certain press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping. His connection to Trump was not mentioned, and host Nick Cannon introduced him as former associate attorney general and former mayor of New York City.
“Well, Mr. 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,” Cannon said.
The episode was reportedly filmed around late January, not long after Giuliani was subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“What made you decide to do this?” Cannon asked.
Giuliani said he did the show for his granddaughter.
“I want her to know that you should try everything, even things that are completely unlike you and unlikely,” he said. “And I couldn't think of anything more unlike me and unlikely than this.”
As he launched into a rendition of the song, Mccarthy and Scherzinger happily danced around. Jeong, who had been standing with his arms crossed, did not appear pleased.
“I'm done,” he said, walking offstage before Giuliani was finished singing.
This kind of moment felt inevitable for The Masked Singer, a reliable place for chaos since it debuted in June 2019. Producers love to cast controversial names, from Youtuber Logan Paul to singer Bobby Brown to former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
But ratings have dropped. While this is still considered a hit these days, it's no surprise that the network (which did not return a request for comment) would look for more shocking names to draw buzz.