Viewers of The Masked Singer UK were in for a surprise on Saturday evening as Toad In The Hole was revealed to be American singer Macy Gray. Bear, Pufferfish, Bush, Wolf, and Toad in the Hole all took to the stage, but sadly, one mystery performer had to leave.
As per the show’s tradition, the person behind the mask had to reveal their identity. However, before Toad’s identity was disclosed, she stormed off the stage when host Joel Dommett announced the unfortunate news that she had to leave.
Fans at home were taken aback, and shortly after, the star returned to the stage and was unveiled as American singer Macy, who seemed less than pleased about her departure from the ITV reality show. Now, an insider has revealed the reason behind the superstar’s sudden exit, reports the Mirror.
They claimed that Macy was simply “blindsided” by such an early exit after making it to the final of the US version of The Masked Singer as Sea Queen in 2023. The source claimed she was initially “almost shellshocked to start with”. They added: “[She was] gutted to be out so early because she really enjoyed being on the American version – where she did brilliantly – so was totally blindsided.”
Speaking to The Sun, they claimed: “It was the shock of it for her as well as the upset and in that moment she had a very raw, human reaction and wanted out. For a professional performer to reach that point shows how badly she felt.”
According to the insider, people backstage had to “talk her round” before she returned in front of the cameras for the reveal. Our sister title The Mirror has contacted Macy Gray’s representatives and ITV for comment.
Fans flocked to social media to give their opinion on the shocking turn of events. One person wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Well that was awkward… #maskedsingeruk.” Another asked: “Did anyone else feel awkward watching the last few minutes of that?”
A third added: “Wow is Macy Gray really that heartbroken that she’s been kicked off Masked Singer“, while someone else commented: “Oh everyone looks so awkward. She walked off stage. cannot deal #maskedsingeruk #maskedsinger.”
The judges had strongly suspected that Toad in the Hole was indeed Macy Gray, who performed the iconic Bobby Hebb track Sunny on the programme. This led to them eliminating her over Bear, another performer who had to sing again to avoid being booted from the show.
After she returned to the stage, show host Joel Dommett, 39, questioned whether she had enjoyed her time on the show. But the Sweet Baby singer tersely replied: “Yeah”. Joel then expressed his gratitude for her participation in the show.
Macy, 57, graced the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival in both 2000 and 2003. She is best known for her 1999 song I Try, which bagged her the Grammy for best female pop vocal performance in 2001.
During the show, Macy, who was wearing a Shakespearean-style ensemble performed Sunny, while Bush gave a moving performance of Jess Glynne’s Hold My Hand. Judge Maya Jama labelled Pufferfish’s take on Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun “stunning”, meanwhile Wolf took on Barry Manilow’s classic Copacabana (At the Copa) and Bear sang Will Smith’s Miami.
When hauled back out to sing for their place in the show, Bear’s emotive performance of Stay by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber was enough to see them saved over Toad In The Hole’s It Must Have Been Love by Roxette.
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