Too soon for George?
The second celebrity to be revealed on The Masked Singer threw the show’s judging panel and viewers in a loop, when the ‘Duster’ was unmasked and found to be former MasterChef judge George Calombaris.
It certainly was a controversial casting choice amongst viewers, given few have forgotten Calombaris’ 2019 scandal about the massive underpayment of workers at his restaurants:
Whoa George back on @Channel10AU 😳 after all@the scandals and the blunder with #MasterChefAU #MaskedSingerAU
— Sam (@yma6rocks) September 14, 2021
I hope George didn't get paid for this appearance... bit of a double standard otherwise 🤔 #maskedsingerau
— Goose (@GooseNotDuck) September 14, 2021
#MaskedSingerAU Noooooooo sorry George Colombaris Too SOON sorry we have NOT forgotten or forgiven maybe try reputation rehab on the ABC
— Dear Jane (@austenite20) September 14, 2021
The judges had guessed cricketers Michael Clarke, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne and celeb chef Gordon Ramsay after the Duster gave an energetic but vocally shaky performance of the Ray Charles classic Shake Your Tailfeather.
Elsewhere in the episode, The Kebab sang the Donna Summer disco anthem Hot Stuff, earning the guesses Jack Vidgen, Courtney Act and former Masked Singer panellist Lindsay Lohan. To our ears – and many more on social media – it was a dead ringer for former Voice winner Vidgen.
Image: Channel 10
Lightning performed the soaring Sara Bareilles hit Brave – and the panel thought she could be Bindi Irwin, Em Rusciano, Molly Taylor or Sam Kerr. Ex-Home and Away star Tammin Sursok was also a popular guess among the more informed viewers on social media.
The Baby gave a rocking rendition of Bad to the Bone, with guesses from the panel including Charlotte Church, Little Mix star Jesy Nelson, Rita Ora or Celeste Barber. They were quite far off – the popular social media guesses of Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Ella Hopper seem a lot more on the money.
Atlantis gave a soulful rendition of the Divinyls’ Aussie classic Pleasure and Pain – copping another Lindsay Lohan guess from the panel, as well as strange guesses of Schapelle Corby and Jessica Watson. To our ears, it was a more seasoned singer – Wendy Matthews? Renee Geyer? A few guesses for actress Pamela Rabe on social media.
The Pinata had some fun with Ricky Martins’ hit She Bangs – Beau Ryan, Dr Chris Brown, Chris Hemsworth and Jimeoin were the top guesses from the panel. Beau seems a good guess, given he’s a local 10 celeb and apparently Ricky’s bestie.