Even if you're not a regular viewer of The Masked Singer, you probably know that the show tries to make it very difficult to guess the identity of everyone who steps on stage in elaborate costumes to belt out some tunes. The celebrity panelists have to take into account the clues given and how each contestant sounds to try and figure out who they are. Unfortunately for The Masked Singer UK panelist Jonathan Ross, when he recently attempted to guess who the Daisy was, he reached for the name of a famous singer who passed away several years ago.
The January 25 episode of The Masked Singer UK, which was the fifth of the competition's freshman season, saw a wonderful performance from the Daisy, who sang Natalie Cole's 1991 hit "Unforgettable." There was a standing ovation from both the audience and the panelists, who also included singers Rita Ora and Donny Osmond (standing in for regular panelist Ken Jeong), and British television host Davina McCall. But, when it came time for Jonathan Ross to guess who Daisy could be, he may have been too wrapped up in who originally sang the song, because he guessed the Daisy was Natalie Cole...who died in 2015.
As you might imagine, the Twitterverse was quick to see Ross' mistake and call him, and the show, out.
Jonathan Ross labeling the Daisy as a celebrity who hasn't been with us for over four years is bad enough, but it turns out that there are actually two things that made the moment even more cringe-worthy for everyone who caught his mistake. Apparently, Ross mentioned Natalie Cole on several occasions that evening, and, on top of that, The Masked Singer UK failed to edit out the mentions even though the show doesn't air live.
Oh, man. OK, I actually feel a bit bad for Jonathan Ross and whoever is in charge of editing The Masked Singer UK. For one, it's not like the panelists have any idea, beyond the clues that everyone gets, who the singers on the show are, and you have no idea who they might remind you of until they begin performing their respective songs. It's not like he had time to think that the Daisy sounded like Natalie Cole, get a suspicious tingle in his brain that said he shouldn't say that, Google the singer and then realize why he shouldn't say it.
We lose a lot of celebrities every year, it would be nearly impossible to remember everyone who's passed away, especially if there's someone right in front of you singing like one of them. So, while Jonathan Ross did make a very big, cringe-worth mistake, it's really the kind of mistake that any of us or the other panelists could have made. But, so many people were quick to point out the blunder, that when ITV, the network where The Masked Singer UK airs, was asked to comment on it by RadioTimes, they simply issued an apology.
The U.S. version of The Masked Singer will return with more surprises to Fox this Sunday, right after the Super Bowl. In the meantime, check out our 2020 mid-season premiere guide and Netflix schedule to see what else you can watch in the coming weeks.
