‘The Masked Singer’ Host Nick Cannon Has COVID-19; Here’s Who Will Step In As Host

INQUISITR.COM / TV
By Lucille Barilla
Published on: 2021-02-04T12:58:18
nick cannon The Masked Singer Television celebrities

Nick Cannon, the host of Fox’s The Masked Singer, has tested positive for COVID-19. The show’s producers turned to Niecy Nash, who will temporarily step in for the longtime host until he recovers, reported Variety.

Nick is currently in quarantine and resting, a rep for the singer and television personality told Variety. He is expected to return to the series once he recovers.

Niecy will be joined by panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, and Robin Thicke, who will once again attempt to figure out which famous faces are concealed behind the glitzy costumes.

Niecy was a guest judge on the show during the Group A finals of the series’ previous season. The performers featured on that episode were The Sun, The Snow Owls, and The Popcorn. The Snow Owls were revealed to be actress Lisa Hartman Black and her husband, country singer Clint Black. The Popcorn was singer Taylor Dayne.

Niecy has a long history with Fox. She was a panelist on I Can See Your Voice and has appeared on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Scream Queens, The Bernie Mac Show, and Family Guy.

New episodes of the competition series are scheduled to air beginning in March.

Nick shared a Twitter clip of what fans could expect from new episodes in late January. The promo featured clips of past unmaskings and promised more legends, a bigger spectacle, and surprises.

Fans appeared to be excited about The Masked Singer’s return and were hopeful Nick would recover quickly.

“Get better soon,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Can’t wait to watch it!” another viewer of the series tweeted.

“Yass! I’m so excited! This is one of my family’s favorite shows,” claimed a third fan on Twitter.

The show has crowned four celebrity winners thus far. These include T-Pain as the Monster in the first season, Wayne Brady as the Fox in the second, Kandi Burruss as The Night Angel in Season 3, and Lee Ann Rimes as The Sun in the most recent one.

Nick was brought back as the host of Season 5 after it was revealed he made anti-Semitic comments following a discussion with former Public Enemy member Professor Griff during the June 30, 2020 episode of his podcast “Cannon’s Class.” Variety shared Nick’s commentary from an interview he released after the incident where he admitted he was ashamed of his statements and shared his sincere apologies to his “Jewish sisters and brothers” for the words he had misspoken.