Democracy Dies in Darkness

‘The Masked Singer’ has become the reality TV hit coronavirus can’t touch

In an era of scaled-down shows with no audience, the Fox reality show takes you back to a pre-pandemic time

By
May 6, 2020 at 10:43 a.m. EDT
A giant human flower that turned out to be Patti LaBelle performs on "The Masked Singer." The show has flourished during the coronavirus shutdown. (Michael Becker/Fox)

On a momentous Wednesday in March, the world changed. Within the span of a few hours, the NBA suspended its season, Tom Hanks revealed he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and President Trump gave a rare Oval Office address on the growing threat.

That same night, the hit Fox reality show “The Masked Singer” attended to a different matter. The singing character of Bear was revealed to be onetime vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who commemorated her “unmasking” with a spirited performance of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.”