Masked Singer star Macy Gray left audiences shocked when she stubbornly refused to remove her ‘Toad in the Hole’ mask post-elimination over the weekend.
On Saturday night, Macy, 57, whipped fans into a frenzy as she ‘threw a strop’ following her elimination while dressed as Toad in the Hole.
The disgruntled singer reportedly kept producers on edge for close to an hour as they tried to persuade her to come back on stage for the reveal and final song. The vocal dynamo was said to be ‘blindsided’ by her early exit from the show, especially after making it to the finale in the U.S. version.
Not everything unfolded before the television audience; when Macy bolted from the stage, refusing to return, at-home viewers only saw the judging panel’s astounded reactions, with the frantic backstage efforts concealed from the camera’s eye.
In the wake of the turmoil, Jonathan Ross, one of the judges, earned accolades for bringing calm to the situation. But, as leaked by a TV insider to The Mirror, the mayhem didn’t conclude with just an annoyed Macy eventually taking the stage again.
Reportedly, the American songstress eschewed the traditional post-show interview, a first given it is standard celebrity practice on the series following their elimination.
The TV source disclosed: “It is normal for the celebs to answer some questions for a QandA sent out by ITV but Macy didn’t do it. This is only second time in history of the show this has happened so it shows how unhappy she was after the show.”
Host Joel Dommett made the announcement that Toad in the Hole would leave, yet Macy did not linger for the customary unmasking and she promptly exited the stage.
Macy’s behaviour was reminiscent of her stint on the Australian version of the show three years ago. During that appearance, after being unmasked as Atlantis, she reportedly refused to leave the stage.
Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes shared on 2Day FM’s Morning Crew: “Macy Gray had such passion for The Masked Singer that when she was told that she had to leave the show, which you saw last night, she refused to leave the show.
“She said: ‘No, I’m continuing in the show,’ and there had to be a discussion which went for quite a while as to: ‘No, you have to leave.’ She said: ‘No, I’m not leaving.'” He added that her reluctance to exit put the show at risk, saying: “The thing is, we can’t do the end of the show unless the head comes off.”
On another note from Saturday night’s episode, new panellist Maya Jama praised Pufferfish’s rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun as “stunning”.
Wolf’s performance of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana (At the Copa) led special guest Suranne Jones to speculate that Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley might be behind the mask, while Davina McCall guessed it could be Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon.
Bear and Toad In The Hole took to the stage once more after Wolf, Bush and Pufferfish were spared. Bear delivered a rendition of Stay by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber, while Toad In The Hole belted out It Must Have Been Love by Roxette, with the panellists ultimately deciding to save Bear.
Last weekend, Sir Mo Farah was unveiled as the celebrity behind the costume portraying host Dommett. The Masked Singer continues on Saturdays on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
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