Way back in February, word leaked as quickly as Rudy Giuliani’s hair dye that the former New York City Mayor would be unmasked as a contestant on The Masked Singer, and all hell broke loose. While many criticized Fox’s ill-conceived bit of stunt casting, the network isn’t sorry.
As Variety reports, Fox Entertainment’s president of alternative entertainment & specials Rob Wade, a.k.a. the man partly responsible for Rudy showing up on the popular reality series, said that the network has “absolutely no regrets” over inviting the man who has spent the past 18 months attempting to overturn the very fair and legitimate 2020 presidential election with nonstop lies and accusations to appear as a Jack in the Box on the series.
“The marketing is all about delivering jaw-dropping moments, which is exactly what the casting accomplished,” Wade told Variety. “And whether it was on set or with the viewers at home I suppose my only regret or surprise was obviously the reveal was spoiled [by the press], but kudos to you guys. Just please don’t do it again. Thanks a lot.”
Whether Wade really regrets the press spoilers or not is unclear, as The Masked Singer used that added bit of publicity to tease that the season would reveal “the biggest event in Masked Singer history.” How it all went down, however, may not have been exactly what the network had expected, or hoped for. In a word: It was a mess.
Giuliani’s big reveal caused some mixed reactions from the show’s judges. While noted anti-vaxxer Jenny McCarthy seemed thrilled to see Trump’s former personal attorney, actor/comedian/doctor Ken Jeong walked off the set. Then there was poor Nicole Scherzinger, who asked Jeong, “Is that Robert Duvall?” But the biggest surprise of all might have been that none of it really mattered, as no one was watching; the Rudy episode scored the lowest ratings of the season—not to mention forever ruined George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone.”
Giuliani’s big reveal wasn’t the Fox series’ first brush with terrible stunt casting. In 2020, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin showed up in a bear suit singing and wildly flailing around to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby’s Got Back.” When Palin went to court earlier this year after suing The New York Times for defamation, she desperately pleaded to make sure the footage of her appearance was not shown to jurors. (But you can watch it below.)
(Via Variety)