Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Masked Singer**! Read at your own risk!**
Performing on The Masked Singer can be a challenge, and not just because these celebrities are singing on stage and trying to keep their identities a secret from the judges. One recently eliminated contestant revealed she was going through some struggles of her own beyond concealing her identity, and CinemaBlend learned from Ricki Lake at TCA that she was suffering throughout the competition with physical issues.
I had sciatica during this period of making the show so I could barely walk, and honestly I never had it before… I was in a lot of pain during this process, [but] I still managed to have a great time.
The Raven's physical pain was never evident during The Masked Singer, although it does explain why Ricki Lake was less mobile than some of the other competitors. While competitors like Monster and Peacock danced and commanded the stage, Lake's Raven was a bit more slow moving and rarely did more than walk across the stage. Luckily, her voice managed to make up for the lack of pizzazz, for a time anyway.
Ricki Lake's case of sciatica, which causes radiating back pain due to a pinched nerve, had her in pain for most of the competition. That may have been why The Masked Singer made alterations to her costume following the first episode, which she talked about during a panel for the series at TCA.
The first week I wore the cage, it was a lot heavier. The second week we removed it. But it was fun! All that reinvention and doing new things... Initially when they asked me to do this I was like “nah”... but it was a blast.
The Hairspray actress admitted that had it not been for The Masked Singer's casting agent Deena Katz, she may not have been swayed to come on board. Ricki Lake had first worked with Katz on Dancing with the Stars, and the agent was able to convince her to give the bizarre new program a shot. Obviously it sounds like Lake had a great time, although it probably would've been more fun if she wasn't in pain during.
Lake was the sixth eliminated contestant on the program, which is pretty impressive considering she's seemingly competing against professionally trained singers. She certainly has nothing to be ashamed of given the folks she lost to tonight, as each and every performer is good enough to make it to the final rounds. Perhaps had she competed in better health, she may have even held on to see a professional singer getting eliminated!
The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Keep on top of the latest eliminations with our best guess guide, and see what's happening with television in 2019 with our midseason premiere guide.
