NOTE: Spoilers ahead for Wednesday night’s “Footloose”-themed episode of “The Masked Singer”
After years of guessing one name over and over on “The Masked Singer,” Ken Jeong was finally proven right when Showbird was sent home on Wednesday night.
The second episode of the season was “Footloose” night, themed around the beloved film which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. To celebrate, panelist Robin Thicke performed his own rendition of the iconic song, and actor Kevin Bacon even recorded a special message for fans.
But, as celebratory as it was, someone still had to go home at the end of the night, and that someone was Showbird. So, who was under the mask?
Well, panelist Ken Jeong has guessed Yvette Nicole Brown just about every season since the show started, and this time, he was right. His “Community” costar was indeed under the mask. In fact, surprising him was a huge part of the reason she finally agreed to go on the show.
“I’ve been asked to be on ‘The Masked Singer’ probably since season two, for sure,” Brown revealed to TheWrap. “And I always said no, because I started as a singer. Singing is very precious to me. It didn’t work out for me as a recording artist, and I kind of just took my ball and went home. And so aside from singing, and you know, I sing on the TV shows I do, and I sing in character as that character, but the idea of being me again singing, I was like, ‘I’ll never do it.’”
After so many denials, Brown was eventually asked to be a guest panelist, which she agreed to do back in 2020. Eventually though, Fox kept asking the actress to return, and she decided this year “just felt right,” especially after going through a “tough year” caring for her father, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
“Something about saying yes this year just felt right. And also, this year, I did it as a love letter to my dear friend Ken Jeong,” she explained. “So saying yes this year was easier, because it was to surprise Ken and to delight Ken. And so I’m always better at doing things for other people than doing them for myself. So it took my mind off of what was going on with my father. It gave me a chance to touch back into a dream that is my greatest love, which is singing.”
Granted, Brown was pretty sure she might be an “easy guess,” especially since her other “Community” costar Joel McHale was her celebrity ambassador (a new feature on the show this year). But that wasn’t a big deal.
“So it wasn’t about not being discovered. It was more about just delighting Ken, really, at the end of the thing. Sorry for people at home, I hope you loved it too, But this was a love letter to my buddy, Ken.”
“The Masked Singer” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
