Here’s Why ‘The Masked Singer’ Was a ‘Full Circle Moment’ for Holly Robinson Peete
The Masked Singer keeps viewers guessing week after week, as each celebrity guest is revealed. Part of the fun is watching the panel of judges – which includes Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke – try to solve the mystery too. Alas, no one on The Masked Singer figured out that Holly Robinson Peete was the fairy. Here’s why her time on the show was so important to her.
Holly Robinson Peete was the fairy on ‘The Masked Singer’
Peete made her appearance on the show in 2023. And she recently joined the podcast Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef to discuss her experience as the fairy on The Masked Singer. Peete revealed singing was her “first love” and loved the chance to share her passion with audiences. But she also revealed she “wasn’t expecting” to stump the panel of judges.
“I’m shocked. I know everybody on that panel, including Nick Cannon,” Peete told Yontef. “And I was shocked that they didn’t get it. … But that was the fun of it all. I had no idea I would stump them like that.” On the show, Peete referenced ducks and the number 21 hinting at her roles in the film Howard the Duck and 21 Jump Street, for which she sang the theme song.
Holly Robinson Peete explained why ‘The Masked Singer’ was a ‘full circle moment’
But the callbacks to her career aren’t why The Masked Singer was a “full circle moment” for Peete. Rather, there’s a more personal connection between her time on the show and her life. She even admitted that her guest appearances on The Masked Singer rank pretty highly among the many accomplishments of her career to date. But there’s a sweet, sentimental reason why.
“It was such a full circle moment to have me perform on Sesame Street night, which means so much to me,” she told Yontef. “So much to my family. My dad was the original Gordon and started that show. He was the first person to introduce Oscar the Grouch. So cut to me all these years later, dressed up in a fairy costume serenading Oscar. It was a whole moment.”
Holly Robinson Peete has had a wild career in film and television
In addition to her early appearances on Sesame Street, Peete has remained a television mainstay for decades. In the 1980s, she did land a breakthrough role opposite Johnny Depp in 21 Jump Street as Officer Judy Hoffs, which she reprised for the 2012 film adaptation.
And in the 1990s, she was a main cast member for all five seasons of the ABC sitcom Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. Peete has said she would love to return for a revival of that series. But in the meantime, she remains busy with holiday TV movies and a voice role on The Proud Family.
