Warning! The following contains spoilers from The Masked Singer's "Miley Cyrus Night." Stream the episode with a Hulu subscription and read at your own risk!
The Masked Singer Season 12 was back on track this week after eliminating a contestant the previous week who didn't know she'd be singing on the show. Another contestant was unmasked, and as sad as I was to see Ice King bouncing (after being revealed as actor Drake Bell), I couldn't get over the elephant in the room surrounding "Miley Cyrus Night." Panelist Robin Thicke has a big TV connection to the Grammy-winning singer that could've been further acknowledged, but I can understand why the show wasn't keen on bringing it up.
For those in the dark, I'm referring to the 2013 VMA performance where Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke shared the stage for a performance. Let's get into how the show acknowledged the moment and likely avoided giving it a better spotlight.
How The Masked Singer Briefly Acknowledged Robin Thicke's Performance With Miley Cyrus
Robin Thicke had a chance to take the spotlight on Miley Cyrus Night and maybe even make a moment bigger than when he and Ken Jeong walked off the stage in The Masked Singer Season 7. Much to my initial surprise, when Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg opened up the conversation for him to comment on the infamous VMAs performance, Thicke played it off and said the following:
Uh, no. Miley and I have never met.
The moment made for a big laugh from the crowd and the panel, but then it wasn't referenced for the rest of the episode. I initially found this strange, considering what a major zeitgeist spectacle it was, but after revisiting some of the aftermath of that performance, it's pretty clear why Robin Thicke and The Masked Singer didn't want to dwell on it.
Why It's For The Best The Masked Singer Left It Out Of The Episode
While the 2013 VMAs may feel like a moment that the world laughed at, it was a bad experience for Miley Cyrus. The singer has talked in past years about how it kept her from wearing shorts, and though she's reclaimed some of that confidence from the foam finger performance, she still seems to feel as if she was needlessly sexualized on the stage.
Despite any acceptance she may feel now, I can see why it would still be in bad taste for The Masked Singer to dwell too much on that moment with only half of the performing parties present to speak about it. And it's not like Robin Thicke didn't have other scandalous things happening surrounding the song "Blurred Lines."
Thicke wants to stay on TMS for a long time, so remaining as noncontroversial as possible in his opinions and career references can only help him remain on the panel.
The Masked Singer Season 12 continues on Fox on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. This season has been one where CinemaBlend has learned all sorts of wild stories from its contestants, and if that's of interest, be sure to check out Andy Richter telling us about the time he ran into Conan O'Brien's late-night rival Jay Leno.
