The Masked Singer has featured some politically polarizing

[Jin Wah]

'Thoroughly disgusted' viewers, judge Ken Jeong protest Rudy Giuliani's controversial 'Masked Singer' appearance: 'He should be in prison'

A month before The Masked Singer Season 7 premiered, Deadline and TMZ leaked the disturbing news that Donald Trump's notorious former attorney and adviser Rudy Giuliani had competed on the show, and that Giuliani’s reveal had shocked everyone in the room. Judge Ken Jeong, a man known for his liberal political views, reportedly had the strongest reaction — storming off the set in disgust while his co-star, Robin Thicke, chased after him to make sure he was OK.

While The Masked Singer has featured some politically polarizing contestants in the past, like Sarah Palin and Caitlyn Jenner, the backlash to those performances was nothing compared to the public outrage surrounding this season’s Rudy rumor. In fact, accusations on social media of The Masked Singer humanizing and normalizing Giuliani (who has been accused of election fraud and encouraging a coup against elected U.S. president Joe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021) were so intense, pundits like myself wondered if his performance would be cut from the show — especially after he did not appear on the season premiere, as Deadline had previously reported.

But as the contestants from Group C, the final bracket of this “The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly”-themed season, made their debut Wednesday, out rolled the scary-looking Jack in the Box, croaking out George Thorogood’s fitting “Bad to the Bone.” (I suppose it goes without saying that this misfit toy represented Season 7’s “Team Bad.”) The judges ignored that key “four seasons” clue and thought that this bouncy clown might be Robert Duvall, Elon Musk, Joe Pesci, or Al Roker — but really, they couldn’t be expected to guess this guy, who said he “gets put in a box a lot,” correctly.

Survivor Season 42 Episode 8 Survivor Season 42 Episode 8 Online Watch Survivor Season 42 Episode 8 How to watch Survivor Season 42 Episode 8 When host Nick Cannon finally unscrewed Rudy’s Jack-head, his reaction was slightly more muted than usual, but he kept things upbeat and professional, asking, “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. Man, what made you decide to do this?”

“Well, 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,” Giuliani answered. “And I enjoy the show — I have for years — and it just seemed like it would be fun. I don't get to have a lot of fun.” He later described competing as the Jack in the Box a “wonderful experience.”

Robin seemed taken aback by this not-so-wonderful unmasking, but he too played along as best he could and engaged in the usual post-reveal banter. Meanwhile, judges Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg — especially Jenny — seemed downright delighted to see Giuliani. However, Ken could not and would not hide his disdain.