‘Masked Singer’ Judge Walks Off Over Controversial Rudy Giuliani ‘Bad to the Bone’ Performance
Though teased by FOX months ago, Donald Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was officially revealed on last night's (April 20) edition of FOX's The Masked Singer. The appearance did not come without drama as one of the panelists, Ken Jeong, offered a simple "I'm done," after Giuliani was unveiled as the "Jack in the Box" and walked off the set of the FOX show.
Giuliani's performance had the politician taking on the George Thorogood and the Destroyers' 1982 classic, "Bad to the Bone," more shouting the song lines than singing them. Before Giuliani was revealed, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg suggested that it was Joe Pesci, Robin Thicke thought it was Robert Duvall, Jeong chose Elon Musk based upon the clues, and Nicole Scherzinger thought it was NBC weatherman Al Roker.
Speaking of clues, one of the clues for Giuliani was "Four Seasons," and while it wasn't tied to the popular band of the '60s and '70s, it was thrown out as a nod to the infamous Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference in Philadelphia (presumed to be erroneously booked instead of the Four Seasons Hotel) in which Giuliani held the parking lot press conference to speak about Donald Trump's legal challenge to Joe Biden winning the presidential election, citing ballot tampering. Repeated attempts by Giuliani and Trump claiming election fraud while trying to overturn the election were debunked and denied in the courts, and Giuliani's law license was suspended in New York state and the District of Columbia after continuing to make "demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public."
The appearance by Giuliani came as a surprise to many when the taping occurred months ago. Giuliani himself added that he too was surprised to be on the show, but told host Nick Cannon, “I just had a granddaughter, Grace, and I want her to know that you should try everything, even the things that are completely unlike you and unlikely — and I can’t think of anything more unlike me and unlikely than this.”
Reaction on social media was swift as the show aired. "He should be in prison, but Rudy Giuliani is on The Masked Singer right now," offered one poster on Twitter. "Allowing figures like Rudy Giuliani to ostensibly rehab their image through shows like this is unacceptable," suggested The Lincoln Project. While another poster stated, "What moron decided it was a good idea to have Rudy Giuliani appear as a contestant on The Masked Singer? Whose next Vladimir Putin?" See a sampling of reactions below.
Giuliani is not the first contestant on The Masked Singer to come from a political background, as former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin previously appeared. Giuliani's exit follows those of Duane Chapman, Jennifer Holiday, Penn and Teller, Christie Brinkley, Jorge Garcia, Jordan Mailata, Duff Goldman and Joe Buck on this season's series. See footage of Giuliani's performance and reveal below.
"Bad to the Bone" was initially released on George Thorogood and the Destroyers' 1982 album Bad to the Bone. Though not a huge radio hit, the video which starred Thorogood and the legendary musician Bo Diddley in a pool showdown became a huge hit on the network. The song has since been placed in TV, film, video games and commercials as well as used for sporting events. See the original video below Giuliani's performance.