Squirrel on ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 9: Here’s Why Everyone Thinks She’s This Swedish Star
The Masked Singer fans were going nuts for Squirrel’s performances in episode 4 on Wednesday night. The costumed celebrity went head-to-head against Gargoyle in a Battle Royale and came out on top. However, the panelists rang the Ding Dong Keep It On bell, allowing Gargoyle to stay in the competition. We’ve already shared predictions for who is behind the Gargoyle mask, but what about Squirrel? Here’s why many fans believe she’s a Swedish actor.
Squirrel’s clues and performances on ‘The Masked Singer’
The Squirrel made her debut on The Masked Singer Season 9’s DC Superheroes Night. She wowed the audience and panelists with a cover of P!NK’s “Try.” Later, in the Battle Royale, she showed off her rock side with “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down.
As for the clues, Squirrel had plenty of telling moments in her intro package. She revealed that she grew up as a “professional figure skater with Olympic dreams.” Squirrel also wanted to be a psychologist. Beyond that, her resume includes modeling jobs, teen acne commercials, sitcoms, and the fact that she made out with Tom Cruise. She also mentioned the phrase “billions of bombshells.” Among the visual clues were a plate of Swedish meatballs, a white castle, a smiley face, and a gorilla.
On stage, DC Comics’ Jim Lee brought out a comic drawing of Batman with “Hero Time” written on it.
Squirrel said, “Just like that piece of art, I put time into my work. But it’s all worth it when I get to watch the final product.”
Who is Squirrel on ‘The Masked Singer’? The clues point to Malin Akerman
The panelists had some great guesses (yes, even the notoriously wrong Ken Jeong) for Squirrel’s identity: Naomi Watts, Katie Holmes, Renee Zellweger, Margot Robbie, and Uma Thurman. However, none of them guessed the popular opinion among The Masked Singer fans, which is Swedish actor Malin Akerman.
Many of the clues fit Akerman to a T, starting with the Swedish meatballs, an obvious nod to her birthplace. Akerman also used to be a figure skater, and she studied child psychology at York University in Toronto for a year before she dropped out to pursue acting and modeling — a decision that came after Akerman gained exposure from starring in commercials. One of her earliest gigs was a contract with the skincare brand Noxzema.
Other clues in Akerman’s intro package pointed to her various film and TV roles. For example, she starred in Showtime’s Billions. Akerman also had a role in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, which explains the castle clue. The smiley face and the Jim Lee comic likely reference her role in Watchmen, a superhero movie that used smiley face imagery.
Can Malin Akerman sing?
This is the million-dollar question on The Masked Singer. While a singing ability isn’t a requirement to be on the show — we’ve seen some less-than-Broadway-worthy performances — Squirrel clearly has natural singing talent. So does Akerman.
Akerman duetted on “I Want to Know What Love Is” with Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages — and yes, they did kiss. She was also in a band, the Petalstones, and she later formed another one called Malin and the Mystikats, as Akerman once told Vanity Fair.
“I just thought that it’s so much fun to actually sing and write your own lyrics and present something that means something to you in music,” she said in the interview. “It’s just nice to have your voice heard.”
With Squirrel crowned the new Queen of The Masked Singer, fans will have to wait and see if she’s unmasked next week. In the meantime, check out all of the celebrity reveals on The Masked Singer Season 9 so far.
New episodes of The Masked Singer air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
