What happened to Nicole Scherzinger from ‘The Masked Singer’ and why is she no longer on the show?

The Masked Singer is back, but there is one familiar face missing from the line-up of panelists. Nicole Scherzinger, who has been with the show since the beginning, has been replaced with Rita Ora.

We love Rita, but Scherzinger has become synonymous with The Masked Singer over the last five years, so her absence is certainly felt. The reality competition where celebrities dress up in huge, extravagant costumes that adapt everything from food and animals to random objects, first premiered in 2019.

Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, and Robin Thicke joined the Pussycat Dolls singer on the commentator/guessing panel tasked with figuring out who was behind the mask — a panel that has remained unchanged until season 11 hit Fox in March 2024.

Why has Rita Ora replaced Nicole Scherzinger in The Masked Singer panel?

Nicole Scherzinger had scheduling conflicts keeping her from joining season 11 of The Masked Singer. While Brit Rita Ora flew over to the U.S. to join the show, Scherzinger was in the U.K., starring in the West End revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. Both the taping of the variety series and the stage production of the musical took place in and around September 2023.

Scherzinger, who stunned as begrudged former silent movie star Norma Desmond, will reprise the leading role on the New York Broadway stage. According to Playbill, rumors are the production will begin in the Fall, and that the singer has signed a six-month contract. It’s unclear whether the commitment will keep the ex-Pussycat Doll away from The Masked Singer for further seasons, but the flight from New York to Los Angeles, where the show is taped, is at least much shorter than the London connection.

Rita Ora was an easy choice given her familiarity with the show. The musician has been on the panel for the British version of The Masked Singer since its first installment in 2020. Ken Jeong was meant to be the first crossover between the two countries, but his participation in the British line-up was eventually derailed due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

Season 11 of The Masked Singer airs Wednesday nights on Fox at 8 pm ET.

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