“Well that was awkward”: The Masked Singer’s second celebrity contestant left a bad taste in many viewers’ mouths. WARNING: Spoilers.
WARNING: Masked Singer spoilers below.
The second celebrity to be revealed on The Masked Singer threw the show’s judging panel and viewers for a loop, with the ‘Duster’ unmasked as former MasterChef judge George Calombaris:
And it was certainly a controversial casting choice among viewers, given few have forgotten Calombaris’ 2019 scandal about the massive underpayment of workers at his restaurants:
Whoa George back on @Channel10AU 😳 after all@the scandals and the blunder with #MasterChefAU#MaskedSingerAU
I hope George didn't get paid for this appearance... bit of a double standard otherwise 🤔 #maskedsingerau
channel 10 what are you doing putting him in another one of your shows #MaskedSingerAU
#MaskedSingerAU Noooooooo sorry George Colombaris Too SOON sorry we have NOT forgotten or forgiven maybe try reputation rehab on the ABC
Pfft George Calombaris doesn't deserve to be back on our TVs 😒 #maskedsingerau
Well that was awkward 😬#MaskedSingerAU
The judges had guessed cricketers Michael Clarke, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne and celeb chef Gordon Ramsay after the Duster gave an energetic but vocally shaky performance of the Ray Charles classic Shake Your Tailfeather.
Elsewhere in the episode, the Kebab sang the Donna Summer disco anthem Hot Stuff, earning the guesses Jack Vidgen, Courtney Act and former Masked Singer panellist Lindsay Lohan. To our ears - and many more on social media - it was a dead ringer for former Voice winner Vidgen.
Lightning performed the soaring Sara Bareilles hit Brave – and the panel thought she could be Bindi Irwin,
Em Rusciano, Molly Taylor or Sam Kerr. Ex-Home and Away star Tammin Sursok was a popular guess among the more informed viewers on social media.
The Baby gave a rocking rendition of Bad to the Bone, with guesses from the panel including Charlotte Church , Little Mix star Jesy Nelson, Rita Ora or Celeste Barber. They’re all way off - the popular social media guesses of Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Ella Hopper seem a lot more on the money. Atlantis gave a soulful rendition of the Divinyls’ Aussie classic Pleasure and Pain – copping another Lindsay Lohan guess from the panel, as well as the bizarre guesses of Schapelle Corby and Jessica Watson. To our ears, it was a definitely a more seasoned singer - Wendy Matthews? Renee Geyer? A few guesses for actress Pamela Rabe on social media.
And the Pinata had some fun with the Ricky Martin hit She Bangs – Beau Ryan, Dr Chris Brown, Chris Hemsworth and Jimeoin were the top guesses from the panel. Beau seems a good guess, given he’s a local 10 celeb and he’s apparently Ricky’s bestie.
This season of The Masked Singer started with a bang, with British film star Vinnie Jones providing a genuine surprise to viewers when he was the first celeb revealed during Monday’s premiere.
Jones was all smiles on screen – but gave a less enthusiastic appraisal of the show during an interview with Kyle and Jackie O on Tuesday, telling them he signed up for the “big cheque” and that he found the top-secret filming procedures annoying.
“You know what, as soon as the cheque clears, then the big stick comes out and they start whacking you on the arse with it. They started bossing me around,” he said of his behind-the-scenes experience.
“I wanted to give a few of them a little slap, but every time I wanted to do that, they put a cape over my head and I couldn’t see anyone.”
A brutal dressing down from Scott Cam left this contestant in floods of tears, complaining she’d been publicly belittled.
The ex-girlfriend of a Love Island UK star made a bombshell claim after she admitted to driving with cocaine in her system.
A new “international megastar” contestant was introduced to The Masked Singer, and unmasked in the very same episode.