‘The Masked Singer’ season 14 shocks viewers with an early reveal and a divisive twist

Spoilers ahead for the season 14 premiere of The Masked Singer.

Season 14 of The Masked Singer launched with a two-hour premiere designed to make noise, delivering a surprise early unmasking, a new insider twist and a double elimination that immediately divided viewers.

Host Nick Cannon teased the opener as featuring 10 brand-new masked contestants and what he described as the most decorated star in the show’s history. The episode wasted little time proving the claim was not hype.

A new format raises the stakes

The premiere introduced a revised structure that paired contestants into five head-to-head battles. The winner from each pairing advanced automatically, while the loser was sent to a bottom group. From there, a second vote determined two eliminations on opening night.

Adding to the shake-up was a new season-long twist titled America’s Insider. Singer and actress Kylie Cantrall revealed before the season aired that she would compete as Cat Witch while secretly sharing her journey with viewers, a first for the series and a twist the panel was unaware of during filming.

Before the competition began, returning judge Rita Ora opened the show with a performance of “Golden”, joined by fellow panelists Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.

All 10 contestants take the stage

The night’s opening match-ups were:

• Galaxy Girl vs Handyman
• Pugcasso vs Queen Corgi
• Scarab vs Croissants
• Snow Cone vs Stingray
• Googly Eyes vs Cat Witch

Galaxy Girl, Pugcasso, Scarab, Stingray and Cat Witch won their respective duels, sending Handyman, Queen Corgi, Croissants, Snow Cone and Googly Eyes into the bottom group.

The early reveal that set the tone

Googly Eyes was the first contestant eliminated. The judges quickly focused on sports-themed clues, with guesses ranging from Derek Jeter to Manny Ramirez.

The mask came off to reveal David Ortiz, the Baseball Hall of Famer and Boston Red Sox legend, confirming Cannon’s promise of elite-level star power and giving Jeong an early lead on the judges’ scoreboard.

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A cliffhanger exit sparks backlash

The second elimination proved far more controversial. The Croissants were voted out next, but instead of a traditional unmasking, viewers were shown two blurred faces with question marks, delaying the reveal until the next episode.

The panel offered a range of guesses, but the episode ended without answers, a move that quickly frustrated fans online and turned the twist into one of the night’s most talked-about moments.

What’s coming next

Before signing off, Cannon teased five new costumes set to debut in episode two: Le Who Who, High Voltage, Calla Lily, Owl and Eggplant.

The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT on Fox.

Aasiya Niaz