Season four of Fox’s hit celebrity singing competition The Masked Singer is well underway, and just two weeks in, the reality show just out-weirded itself — and this is a show that once had Lil Wayne and Sarah Palin performing on the same stage. On top of the fake-but-also-real audience members enjoying the live show, one contestant just completely threw out The Masked Singer protocol, unmasking himself just for the hell of it.
On the second week of the Fox series, the ragtag group of mystery contestants gathered as usual to perform various songs under their intricate costumes. There were some standout performers on the stage that blew the judges away like the Seahorse’s rendition of “Only Girl in the World (Tori Kelly, you ain’t slick!) and the Crocodile’s take on Bon Jovi, but the game changer of the night came from the Gremlin.
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After performing a throaty version of Ben. E. King’s “Stand By Me,” the singer didn’t even bother hearing everything that the judges had to say about his performance. As they mulled over the the possibility of his identity, the Gremlin decided to unmask himself right then and there.
“Dammit, it’s hot, I’m taking it off,” he said gruffly, pulling the furry head off to reveal none other than a flushed Mickey Rourke!
Beside him, host Nick Cannon was panicking because contestants are unmasked only after being voted off by the judges.
“We’ve lost control, it’s the Gremlin show!” Cannon cried onstage. “This is a Masked Singer first! We didn’t get to vote, the other people didn’t get to come out!"
Rourke's reasons for participating in the popular reality show were just as strange. The actor told Cannon and the judges that although he'd only watched a few episodes of The Masked Singer before being approached by producers, he was "in the neighborhood" and decided to come on after binge-watching the show. But clearly, a week under that hot ass costume was a week too long, so he was out. Understandable.
Even with Rourke's shocking unmasking out of the way, there are still more surprises ahead for fans of The Masked Singer. You truly never know which way this show will go.