'I'm done': Ken Jeong exits 'The Masked Singer' stage following shocking Rudy Giuliani reveal
Spoiler alert! The following contains details from the April 20 episode of "The Masked Singer," including the identity of the unmasked celebrity.
It's the "Masked Singer" episode we've all been waiting for, even if you're not a fan of Fox's campy singing competition.
In February, reports surfaced that New York's former mayor Rudy Giuliani, once celebrated for his response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 but now a disgraced perpetrator of the false conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged," would appear on the current season of "The Masked Singer."
Giuliani's involvement reportedly led panelists Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke to leave the stage in protest.
In Wednesday's episode, viewers got to see just how the supposed incident unfolded – or at least, an edited version of events.
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The show introduced this season's final group of five contestants: Giuliani's Jack in the Box, The Prince, Space Bunny, Baby Mammoth and Queen Cobra.
When it was Jack in the Box's turn to perform, he popped up from his box as pyrotechnics exploded. Thicke and Jeong loved it (At least, for the time being.)
After hearing the contestant's voice, a few in the crowd appeared mystified. Giuliani didn't so much sing "Bad To The Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers as he did talk-sing it. The 77-year-old kept movements to a minimum but still seemed to impress Thicke, who hyped up his performance: "You can't get any badder than that. That's the baddest."
His vocals certainly weren't terrible, but they weren't "the baddest," at least in the way Thicke meant it.
Upon Jack in the Box's elimination, the panel guessed the character could be actors Joe Pesci or Robert Duvall, entrepreneur and Twitter seeker Elon Musk, or possibly "Today" weather anchor Al Roker.
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After Nick Cannon struggled with Jack in the Box's mask, the host enthusiastically announced the contestant's identity. The reveal stunned the audience and the judges.
"Robert Duvall?" Scherzinger asked Jeong. "No, that's not Robert Duvall," he informed his fellow panelist, as his face fell. A beaming McCarthy declared she had "no idea!"
"Wow! This is definitely something I never would have guessed," Thicke said, clearly shocked.
Cannon articulated the palpable shock from everyone in the room. "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.' "
"Me too," Giuliani responded.
He explained his new granddaughter Grace motivated him to do the show and was met by sympathetic "Awws" from the audience.
Jeong listened with his arms crossed as Giuliani went on.
"I want (Grace) to know that you should try everything," Giuliani added. "Even things that are completely unlike you and unlikely. I couldn't think of anything more unlike me and unlikely than this. And I enjoy the show. I have for years. And it just seemed like it would be fun, and I don't get to have a lot of fun."
Jeong's fellow panelists didn't appear to be as irked by Giuliani's appearance.
Scherzinger asked for more information about a detail from his clue package. Thicke clapped for the contestant. McCarthy threw her hands in the air and yelled for Giuliani's farewell performance, but Jeong was noticeably displeased.
"I'm done," he said before exiting the stage. McCarthy and Scherzinger danced as Giuliani performed. (Thicke was off camera, so it's not clear if he also left the stage.)
USA TODAY reached out to a rep for "The Masked Singer" for further comment.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Masked Singer': Rudy Giuliani's reveal moves Ken Jeong to walk out