In an unexpected moment, Macy Gray stormed off The Masked Singer on January 11 after the panel voted her out of the competition. Disguised as Toad In The Hole, the soul singer reached the final two sing-off, but lost out to the yet-to-be identified Bear. Before revealing her identity, she abruptly walked offstage.

Judges Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, Mo Gilligan and Maya Jama were left stunned and surprised before host Joel Dommett announced she would return to the stage. She then took off her headpiece and revealed herself as Macy Gray to the applause and delight of the audience and judges.

Though she received high praise from Jama as an “idol and an icon”, and “amazing” by Davina, she still seemed quite reserved and unimpressed, giving one-word answers to the compliments and questions.

A source for the Sun has suggested that the ‘I Try’ songstress was “blindsided” by her early elimination, saying that she felt “gutted to be out so early because she really enjoyed being on the American version – when obviously she did brilliantly – so was totally blindsided.”

The insider added: “It was the shock of it for her as well as the upset and in that moment, she had a very raw, human reaction and wanted out. For a professional performer to reach that point shows how badly she felt.”

She’s previously appeared on the Australian version of The Masked Singer in 2021, as the character Atlantis, and in the American version in 2023 as Sea Queen.

The panel had suggested earlier in the show that Gray was the musician behind the mask, after singing a rendition of Boney M’s ‘Sunny’. Mo Gilligan also suspected that it might be American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman beneath the Toad costume.

Since the walkout, judge Maya Jama has shared a clip of Gray’s exit on Instagram, jokingly writing that it’s “Me at any minor inconvenience”.

Host Joel Dommett also commented on the incident during an interview on BBC Radio 2 with Paddy McGuiness, offering a more optimistic take on the singers exit: “If you’re a great singer and you make it through then that’s absolutely wonderful, but sometimes, like the case with Macy Gray, she has such a recognisable voice and she’s a legend so you immediately know who it is.”

“So it’s kind of one of those where we all know who it is, she might as well go and then the other person can go through as we don’t quite know who they are. So the guessing game continues.”

Dommett added: “The funny thing is, I think it’s a win-win scenario on that game – whether you go through to the final it’s a win as you’re winning it. But also if you go home early it’s a win because you get to go early and you get the same money.”

The show’s latest series premiered last Saturday (January 4), with six contestants in the running. Two other celebrities have been revealed as masked vocalists so far – Spag Bol was identified as Good Morning Britain‘s Kate Garraway after performing Geri Halliwell‘s ‘Look At Me’. Pegasus was also revealed to be Great British Bake Off‘s Prue Leith, who sang ‘Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin” from the musical Oklahoma!

The Masked singer airs on ITV and ITVX – you can watch all previous episodes here.