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The moment that had been talked about for months finally came: Rudy Giuliani appeared in, and was then rejected, “The Masked Singer” on Wednesday night.
Giuliani, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, whose license to practice law was suspended in New York and Washington after he made baseless allegations of voter fraud and backed up baseless conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Trump, appeared in a Fox reality show wearing a fancy jack suit in a box.
“Is that Robert Duvall?” Judge Jenny McCarthy exclaimed when Giuliani was revealed after being named the band’s least talented singer after performing “Bad to the Bone.” Duvall was one of the jury’s previous guesses (McCarthy, Robin Tick, Ken Yong and Nicole Scherzinger), along with Elon Musk and Al Rocker.
“No,” Jong said, looking unhappy. “This is not Robert Duvall.”
In fact, no one guessed at Giuliani, not even with the clues during his inaugural package, alluding to the “four seasons” that some may recall from a Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference. His relationship with Trump was not mentioned, and host Nick Cannon introduced him as a former associate attorney general and former mayor of New York.
“Well, Mr. Giuliani, with all the controversy that is surrounding you right now, I think we are all surprised that you are here at The Masked Singer,” said Cannon; The episode was reportedly filmed in late January, not after Giuliani was summoned by a House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 uprising in the US Capitol. “What made you decide to do this?”
Giuliani said he did the show for his granddaughter: “I want her to know that you have to try everything, even things that are completely different from you and unlikely,” he said. “And I couldn’t think of anything different and unlikely than that. And I’m enjoying the show, I’ve had it for years and it just seemed like it was going to be fun. I don’t have the right to have a lot of fun. “
As he began to perform another performance of the song, McCarthy and Scherzinger danced happily around. Jong, who was standing with his arms crossed, didn’t look pleased. “I’m done,” he said as he left the stage before Giuliani finished singing.
This kind of moment felt inevitable for The Masked Singer, a trusted place for chaos since it debuted in January 2019. The first celebrity to be revealed was NFL star Antonio Brown, who was in the middle of a public dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time. He had missed the game last Sunday and was there a few days later singing “My Prerogative” while dressed as a hippopotamus.
This set the tone for the series, which thrives on feeling like a feverish dream as viewers watch an incredibly random collection of celebrities singing in intricate and terrifying costumes. Producers like to choose controversial names, from YouTuber Logan Paul to singer Bobby Brown to former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
But as with most TV shows, ratings have dropped: The first season averaged about 12 million viewers per episode, including delayed viewing, and the numbers are now close to about 5 million. Although this is still considered a hit these days, it’s no surprise that the network (which did not return a request for comment) will look for more shocking names to make a fuss.
“You don’t get publicity because you’re safe, predictable and kind. You have to constantly push the boundaries and upset and upset people, so in all the talk shows and discussions, “Did they go too far?” Said Richard Rushfield, chief columnist and editorial director of the Hollywood newsletter Ankler. “I think they would honestly say that if it upsets people, fine, because that means they’re talking about it.
After all, the producers of “The Masked Singer” never cared what the audience thought: the jury included McCarthy, known for promoting the bond between vaccines and autism, and Robin Tick, the lead singer of the critically acclaimed hit “Blurred lines.” Cannon was fired from ViacomCBS in 2020 after making anti-Semitic comments.
And yet the goofy costumes and performances (once the unmasked celebrity was Kermit the Frog) mean she can work as a family TV; or, as executives call it, a “four-quadrant show” because it can appeal to men, women, young viewers, and older viewers.
“I’m sure there is a world where people can get involved because of the contradictions, but that can ultimately backfire if they compromise the viewer’s trust,” said Tom Noonan, former president of NBC Studios and UPN. “When you perform such a cascade, you may end up alienating entire parts of these quadrants. There is a big risk – so you may experience a temporary peak, but what is the price? “
Noonan, an instructor at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, recalled that when he ran a network, stuntmen always looked attractive – but generally did not work to make a declining show look more appropriate. “In a sense, this is a signal to the audience …” Our boat is sinking, “he said. “And people tend to want to jump off a sinking boat.”
Of course, Rushfield added, it is possible that Fox will accept that any criticism will not matter in the long run.
“We’ve seen over and over again that with a lot of these things that people who would be willing to boycott something and get away from it are a small number of people, mostly active on Twitter – and within three hours I moved on to the next something, ”he said.
When the news of Giuliani’s appearance first appeared on Deadline, there was an immediate reaction from people who were angry that the disenfranchised lawyer had been given a chance to continue his time in the spotlight or try to redeem his reputation through reality TV. This happens every time a former Trump White House official does something similar: in 2018, Omarosa Manigolt Newman starred in CBS’s “Big Brother” and admitted some of the regrets she worked for in the West Wing with her former boss. of Charak.
Former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci also appeared in “Big Brother of Celebrities.” Last year, senior councilor Kelian Conway made a cameo in ABC’s American Idol to support the audition of his daughter Claudia. And in 2019, fake spokesman Sean Spicer was cast in ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, a move criticized by network officials and fans of the show.
Giuliani received the same gentle editing as he talked about his granddaughter and asked Scherzinger questions about organizing weddings in his former job as mayor. “Your family will love this,” Scherzinger said.
But television experts agree that even if Trump-related appearances don’t turn out to be a big deal in terms of ratings, presenting such controversial figures could still hurt in the long run.
“I don’t think Sean Spicer hurt Dancing with the Stars and his ratings, but was it worth it?” Noonan said. “It used to be a really elite show where you could compete for an Emmy. But once you start with these stunts, you feel desperate. I think that’s exactly what this Masked Singer move is – it’s a desperate move and the audience can see through it. “
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